


The Meido Stone

by NinjaBurrito22



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:14:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 51,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinjaBurrito22/pseuds/NinjaBurrito22
Summary: The Meido Stone was once the most revered and feared possession of the Inu Daiyokai Clan long ago. After it is stolen Sesshomaru and Toga hunt it down to return it to its rightful place within the clan before the humans can unlock its secrets. Follow the story of the stone throughout the ages and all the lives it touched.(Do not forget that concept art for this story is posted on Deviant Art under finalblacktear)Written By- NinjaBurritoEdited By- Miss Marie
Relationships: Kohaku/Rin (InuYasha), Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Part 1 (A Once Beautiful Child)

Snow settled down on the world in a thick smothering blanket, seeping between the large pine trees and obscuring the true banks of the icy river. The air was frozen with crystals that assaulted the lungs when one tried to breath too deeply. Three tall men stood on the banks of the frozen river, careful not to break the ice and fall into the deadly grasp of its waters. All three men were exceptionally pale to begin with, but their skin had slowly turned pink as the moister was sucked from them where long fur cloaks didn't protect them. If any human had happened by the picturesque scenery and the three beautiful men, they would have claimed to see the beauty of divine beings sent to the world.  
These men were in fact not celestial beings, no they were not sent from the heavens or any other place of peace. These men were Inu Daiyokai, beautiful monsters from the great and powerful Dog Demon Clan and these men had their sights trained on the palace across the river and its occupants. The human lord of these lands had greatly offended the Demon Clan which shared a common border, the Forest of Plight, which was to the backs of the three men.  
"My Lord, the moon is covered, now would be the time to attack," one of the men said to another, bowing his head to show respect. Like most of the Dog Demon Clan this man had long braided white hair with hints of blue like the marks on his face and around his golden eyes.  
"No Uncle, we must wait for the wind to change direction. They might be humans but like many around here they may have contracted other demons to defended them. If they smell us before we reach the palace, we lose the element of surprise," the youngest stated, his eyes watching the beings on the walls, too many of them moving in an inhuman like manner. He might look young and untested but the Dog Demon Lord's son was not one to be trifled with.  
The tallest of the three smiled down at his son Sesshomaru, that was the most he had ever heard his son speak at one time, and of course it was completely correct. Toga looked at his mates' brother and smiled. Daisuke smile back as if to say he too was impressed by the military prowess of his nephew.  
"Correct son, as soon as the winds change, we will strike." Toga was not pleased to be attacking a human palace, it wasn't sportsmanlike for three of the most skilled and powerful men from his clan to attack such weak and unsuspecting mortals. The Lord of this land should have known better before stealing the Meido Stone form its resting place on Togas land and killing the maidens that guarded it.  
What worried him the most was how they had managed to sneak on to his lands and kill several clan members in the matter of minutes, then completely disappear without a trace. It had taken the three of them days to track down the culprits to this human palace. He had thought the human lord that resided here smarter than pissing off his demon neighbors.  
The wind stopped moving for a heartbeat then began to blow at the three men, bring the smell of several demons to their noses.  
Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose, "Panther demons." He bared his fangs, a growl escaping his throat as he breathed in the stench of his enemy.  
"And others," Daisuke stated.  
"Time to go, we hit hard in Yokai form and cause as much damage and panic as possible. Son, you go in your humanoid form and search for the Meido Stone. As soon as you have it retreat to the rendezvous point. We will meet with you as soon as possible."  
"How will I find it Father?" Sesshomaru questioned. The Meido Stone had no smell as it was not from this world.  
"Take this, it will hear the song of the stone and show you the way." Toga handed him one of three swords he carried. His son glared at it and back at his father. He hated the Tenseiga, the most useless of his father's great swords. He slowly took it and tied it to his sash begrudgingly.  
In an instant Toga and Daisuke began to transform, their white hair covering their body, faces stretching to reveal rows of sharp deadly fangs. Once they were both transformed into their true forms, Sesshomaru jumped to the back of the smaller one, his uncle, using his fur pelt cloak to blend in with him. Both of the powerful demons took to the air, great howls escaping from their mouths, shattering the sleepy winter night.  
Daisuke crashed into one of the guard towers, shattering the building to splinters with the swipe of his mighty claws and sending debris with the scent of dog demon all over the courtyard. If the panther demon tribe was here, then they wouldn't be able to smell a third person with Toga and Daisuke's smell everywhere. Sesshomaru slipped from the back of his uncle, one hand on the Tenseiga and began sprinting through the corridors of the palace, hoping the sword would pick up on the stone. Ignoring the human screams as the other two destroyed the building, he ran at full speed, barley a blur to a mortal eye.  
'This is taking too long,' Sesshomaru thought to himself as he ran lower and lower into the bowels of the human palace. He must be underground now for he could barely hear the sounds of the battle raging on the surface. He hadn't seen many people in his mad dash to find the stone. It's almost as if the humans avoided this part of the palace. Though it was cold and damp, he didn't see any reason it should be abandoned. He began smelling the air for any signs of life, human or demon. At first all he could smell was mold and river water. If he listened hard enough, however, he could hear the river moving through the walls. He was really, really far underground. He was about to turn back to look elsewhere when another smell reached him. At first the smell of the river overpowered everything but after a few seconds of concentrating he could distinguish between the two.  
Blood. More specifically, Inu Daiyokai blood was welling up from the stone beneath him. At the same time he recognized the scent, the sword began to hum and shake in its sheath. These humans were smart and prepared, storing the Stone in a place near the river so the superior demon senses couldn't hear or smell while in the area. Now that he was focused, he could smell several humans in a room below him but couldn't see any stairwell or door that might take him to it. Well there was only one thing to do now, he told himself, drawing out his poison claws and slowly melting a hole in the floor big enough for him to pass through.  
He jumped through the hole he created and landed on the floor. He seemed to have jumped into a prison of sorts, the walls on both sides of him lined with cell doors. Some of the cells contained sad and emaciated people laying on the floors in rags. Some contained corpses in various stages of decompose. The smell was almost overpowering as he brought the sleeve of his kimono to cover his nose.  
He walked slowly through the halls, looking in on the different cells while waiting for the sword to react again. He reached the end of the hall where a large iron and wood door stood, again the smell of death and decay oozing through the boards. The sword hummed again as he touched the lock and melted it.  
Rage, pure blinding rage, a feeling that Sesshomaru was unfamiliar with swept through his being, sharp and cold like steel. He couldn't believe the scene that lay before his eyes when the door opened. An Inu Daiyokai woman, or girl really, was chained with her hands above her head to the opposite wall of the door. Her long snowy hair was matted with blood, dirt, and leaves, her skin and lips gray and ashen. She was clad in only a dirty and bloodied robe that revealed a good bit of her cleavage and barley covered her hips.  
Even in the long-life spans of demons this girl couldn't be more than twenty years old, basically a child by the clans' standards. She had bruises and whip lash marks, a cracked lip with dried blood on her neck and several other lacerations marring her skin. All this set Sesshomaru on edge but the thing that pushed him over the wasn't the smell of feces, piss and blood or the salty smell of male… excitement that covered her. No what forced him into the blind rage was the dried blood that coated the girl's thighs and feet. She must have been one of the maidens that protected the Stone which safely swung from her neck, maidens that swore off men and lived their long lives as virgins.  
Upon hearing him open the door, the girl looked up and locked eyes with the young male demon. Relief visibly flooded through her as she took in the son of the Dog demon leader. "My lord." Her voice was dry from dehydration and raw from screaming. "I wouldn't let them have it my Lord, it's still safe. I used the spell Mother Superior taught us so it couldn't be removed."  
"How did they manage to overpower you and your sisters?" He asked. The maidens weren't just pretty faces, they were deadly worriers in their own right, trained to care for and protect the stone.  
"I don't know, they covered themselves with something, we couldn't smell them or hear them. They just appeared like ghosts. All I know is they were hired by this lord specifically to get the stone for someone else. I don't know who." She was winded and having a hard time forming words around her cracked, bleeding lip.  
He couldn't speak again for a moment; he could barely hear her over the roar of his blood rushing through his ears. These disgusting human swine raped and beat a child for three days. He and his father and uncle hadn't even known that she had been taken, if they had would they have worked harder to find her faster? 'This is our fault,' he told himself.  
"My Lord, please, take the stone and leave." Her small voice barely reaching him.  
He shook his head. "No child, I will not leave you behind." He was finally able to move, walking completely into the room and kneeling down before her. "I will not leave you here to suffer."  
Her face was emotionless and eyes completely empty of any will to live. "They took everything from me. I can never go back to being a maiden of the Meido Stone Shrine. I might as well die here."  
He heard the door to the prison open and men yelling and calling out about an intruder. Soon this narrow place would be full of armed guards, or even other demons. He wasn't going to be able to take his time slowly killing the human scum that would dare do this to a child, but he could vent his spleen a little by killing every other human down here.  
The young lord broke the chains free from the wall, catching the girl in his arms. She whimpered quietly as he wrapped her in his fur pelt, trying to save what little humility was left to her. He lifted her in his embrace and whispered in her ear, "Whatever you hear, don't come out of the furs, do you understand?" He heard what sounded like a confirmation and pulled her closer.  
The underground prison was filled to the brim now with human guards, at least there were no demons amongst them. All had their blades drawn and angled towards Sesshomaru when he walked out of the torture room.  
"Filthy mongrel, how dare you break into the palace of Lord Gyru!" One of the humans spat at him, "Learn your place, demon!"  
He bent down to the bundle of furs in his arms. "Remember, stay in there 'til I tell you otherwise." He looked up at the guards and smiled a soul chilling smile. "Human pigs." The room began to fill with poison fumes from the acid dripping from his claws and fangs. His face was slightly transformed to that of a monstrous dog.  
The men dropped their swords and began to scream as the noxious cloud passed through them. Their skin began to melt from their bones and their lungs filled with poison. With the girl safely tucked into his chest and wrapped in his pelt, Sesshomaru began to walk through the dying men to the door they entered from, a wicked smile on his hideously transformed face. Every human in the underground prison would be dead by morning.  
"You can come out now." The girl poked her face from the furs and immediately closed her eyes. The sun was just beginning to light up the horizon, but all the snow magnified the dim rays giving a sense of full dawn. Through slit eyes she looked at her rescuer, memorizing every line of his face. "What's your name?" He asked as he continued to follow the river to the place his father and uncle agreed to meet at.  
"Akari from the Sky Cloud family." Her voice was so weak that even Sesshomarus sharp ears could barely hear her. The Sky Cloud family was a cousin family of his mother's and uncle's Moon Fang family. Of course, the term cousin was loosely used between families since all in the Dog Demon Clan were related somehow.  
The morning was quiet save for the occasional slush of snow falling from a tree branch and his feet breaking the frozen layer of snow on the ground. She was going to die soon if he didn't do something for her, but he didn't know what to do in a delicate situation like this. He walked to a log near the bank of the river and set her down, arranging the pelt around her to keep her somewhat covered and comfortable.  
"Is it ok if I touch you?" He asked not looking at her, dipping a handkerchief in the water, watching his footing in the icy bank and being careful not to fall in.  
Akari gave a sardonic chuckle from the folds of the fur. "I asked you to let me die, now you're worried about what I want?" He knew she didn't mean it; he couldn't even begin to understand what she felt or had been through. When he didn't say anything she finally said yes and refused to look at him.  
He first gave her water from the cloth, squeezing it between her parch lips, repeatedly returning to the river for more till she had had enough, then he began to clean her skin as best as he could. Most of the wounds had festered in the damp humid prison cell, he wasn't sure what they had given her, but it had kept her from naturally healing. Once her face, hand and chest were cleaned to the best of his ability with cold river water he turned to the dried blood between her legs. Akari looked away from him again as he carefully cleaned the blood, shame and sadness battling on her beautiful face. He could only imagine how she would have looked when healthy and vibrant. It was quiet for a moment as he worked, careful not to touch her bare skin with his own or to clean too far between her thighs. She either completely trusted him or was so far beyond caring that it wouldn't matter what he did at this point.  
Once he was done cleaning what he could, the young lord stood and threw the rag into the river to carry the smell of human male excitement away from them. He motioned for her to give him the soiled robe she wore and traded it for the top layer of his kimono. It was massive on her but thankfully covered her from neck to beyond her toes.  
"Thank you." A sob cracked her voice and she swallowed, tears spilling down her young face.  
"I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner," was all he could say as he allowed her to cry into his chest once he sat on the log. She didn't cry for long, her sobs falling off into nothing as her body began to relax. Her breathing slowed, the fluttering of her heart slowing to nothing then her body went limp and a last breath escaped from her gray cracked lips. Sesshomaru continued to hold her as her body turned cold, watching ice chunks float passed him in the river.  
He heard his uncle and father long before they entered the clearing next to the river where the two sat. Toga looked at his son and the newly dead child in his arms. Toga was intelligent with a keen sense of smell that surpassed even that of his son, it didn't take him long to discern what had happened.  
He could see the stone peaking from his son's kimono top, its sapphire brilliance dancing in the morning sun illuminating the shallow skin of the girl underneath. "We need to get her medical attention as soon as possible. Daisuke, run ahead and have your sister meet us." His mate's brother looked confused and exhausted but did as his lord commanded without question.  
Once he was gone the younger man looked at his father. "It's too late, she's dead father."  
Toga walked to them and gripped his sons' shoulder. "I'm going to show you something that only your mother and I know regarding my most powerful sword." His voice was deep and calming, soothing to his sons' ears. Many people believed that Sesshomaru was unfeeling or uncaring, but his father knew in reality his son cared more than most. He had learned at a young age to lock his feeling away and to never allow his emotions to show.  
The younger man looked at the other two swords on his father's back. "No son, these two are not my most powerful swords, they pale in comparison to the power of the one at your waist." He had forgotten the sword his father gave him to find the stone, the sword that couldn't cut or kill. In one swift motion Toga pulled Tenseiga from the sheath, its blade glowing and pulsing, reacting to the stone at the girl's throat. The Great Dog demon slashed the sword a cross the corpse in his sons' arms, a blinding light shining from a nonexistent wound on her chest. The light shone for a moment more then slowly sank into her body, soon disappearing altogether.  
Sesshomaru watched for a second before casting a confused look to his father. "Just wait son." It wasn't long before a new sound filled the clearing. The sound of a third heartbeat, then a shuddering breath from the girl as life overtook her once more.  
"Keep her warm son, your mother will be here soon."


	2. Part 2 (An Interlude: The Calm Before The Storm)

Toga stood with his back to the small group in his study, intently watching the winding path that led down the mountain the Inu Daiyokai called home. The clan's territory was large and claimed most of the West as its own and served as protectors for many of the other demon clans in the region of the canine persuasion. Toga's land itself was this mountain, the valley around it and the unruly Forest of Plight beyond the valley.  
He turned and looked at the woman sitting on his desk reading a scroll of the events at the palace. Most of the clan didn't know her name or much about her, she liked to remain aloof and an enigma, adding to the majesty of her beauty. Most in the clan called her Gobodo-sama or Inukimi with affection, Toga just referred to her as 'mate'. Though she was the mother of his son and a close confidant of his, neither of them harbored affection for one another outside friendship. She had served her purpose of giving him a son and continued to assist him with her infinite wisdom. Her brother Daisuke sat next to her, fingers steeple as he bounced his leg. Always uncomfortable in confined spaces for too long, he was truly a wild dog.  
Toga's mate sighed, set the wooden scroll down on his desk and looked at the two men before her. "Explain it to me from start to finish; what we know, what we don't know and what we can speculate on."  
Daisuke looked at his older sister. Taking a deep breath, he began, "Three weeks ago, the Meido Stone Shine was attacked. The Mother Superior and all the maidens that guarded it were killed but one. We know the attackers somehow managed to cover their scent, move almost as ghosts and overpowered seven powerfully trained Sisters. We know the youngest, Akari, used some spell to seal the Stone to her person, forcing the attackers to take her." He took another deep breath before continuing, "We know her actions are probably what stalled them long enough for us to hunt them down. According to her, the human, Lord Gyru, was working with someone else to steal the stone for a third party. He hired demons to run security, specifically fucking Panther Demon Tribe, and disappeared the night we attacked, escaping." He looked to Toga who nodded.  
Toga continued for him, "We do not know how they covered their scent, what they gave to Akari to keep her from fighting back or healing and we don't know what they want with Meido Stone nor how they found out about it in the first place."  
Inukimi tapped her fingernails against her teeth as she processed everything. "It's safe to assume they know what its power is for and wish to control the dead and hell spawn. We need to know who wants it, that is the most important question, and who's going to protect it now that the shrine and Mother Superior are gone."  
Toga looked at her, "Well actually we don't have a choice in that."  
"Oh?" she responded, looking at Toga and raising an eyebrow.  
"I'm not sure what caused it but Akari can no longer remove the amulet with the stone from her neck. I fear the only way it will be removed from her is with her death."  
"Well, I mean she cast that weird spell so it couldn't be removed," Daisuke stated, his leg shaking harder.  
Inukimi shook her head. "No, she should be able to remove it if it was just the spell. It must be an interaction when you revived her. You used the Tenseiga while she wore the stone and while the spell was still active."  
"Either way she's its guardian now, and she has more than proved she will put her life on the line to protect the stone."  
"She has balls of steel that's for sure, but she's incredibly young. We will need someone to watch over her till she's matured as both a demon and a woman." She was thinking out loud, but Toga answered anyway.  
"She will be placed in the care of our son."  
Both her brows now shot up to her bangs. "Interesting choice."  
"A bond was forged my dear. When I saw our calculating and cold son holding on to her body, I knew I couldn't let her die. She may be the one that breaks through his jagged exterior and gives him a reason to fight." Toga worried much about the state of the world and his clan, if Sesshomaru was going to carry on after him, he would need a reason to push forward.  
Toga's mate looked and him skeptically and replied in a low, thoughtful voice, "Or it's going to be the thing that breaks him entirely…"

_________________________

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye as the Dog Demon Clan moved on from what would become known as the 'Shrine Massacre'. The rest of the families in the clan had been led to believe that all the Shrine Maidens had died and when the Stone had been recovered it had been hidden in a secret location outside the clan. Since Akari came from a prominent family such as the Sky Cloud family she took to covering her face and with her time in Toga's manor and being around his family it helped mask her scent.  
Many in the Clan assumed she belonged to Sesshomaru since the two were seldom ever seen apart while others thought she was part of Moon Fang and his protégé. As she grew into her demonhood many men in and out of the clan began to take notice of her, but none would approach her with the Heir to the demon clan so near her. If she did belong to Sesshomaru, who had gained a reputation of being malevolent and dangerous since word leaked out about what he had done to the men in prison, no one was going to challenge him for her. Toga had sent people to investigate the fallen palace to see if they had missed anything. When the prison had been discovered and people recognized the young lord's venom, many began to fear him.  
Her secondary demon characteristics had also come in; red around the eyes, black wisp marks on the cheek bones and a black diamond on the forehead, marking her as a full-grown demon. The child in her eyes and the shape of her body disappeared leaving behind a lovely and deadly being. Still to this day her skin bore the scars of her time with the humans, they were constant reminders she would carry for the rest of her long life.  
Akari now stood in the middle of Sesshomaru's study/rooms, staring at him as he shuffled thought papers and wood scrolls. He tried hard to look busy and ignore her intense gaze boring holes in the back of his head. He succeeded for a time, getting a lot of work his father asked of him done till he heard her clicking a long razor-sharp nail on the lower face mask she wore.  
"Akari, is there something you needed?" his monotone voice asked while he continued to read. She walked over to his desk and sat down on all his papers and book, pushing ink pots and paper weights to the ground. She glared at him, only the upper part of her faces visible but he could tell she was baring her fangs. "You need to use your words, reading minds is not something I'm proficient at." Again, his voice was flat.  
Since the day of her resurrection she rarely spoke and relied on body language and sometimes violence to get her point across. "I want a bath." Even without the metal mask her voice was low and raspy, with the mask he had to strain to hear her.  
"There are hot springs in the Manor, use them." He reached around her to pull a paper from her behind. She blocked him, shifting her weight and getting in his face. "I need to get this done, then I will go with you to bathe."  
She wasn't allowed to leave the confines of the manor unattended but also refused to use the hot springs to bathe. No, she insisted on going down to the forest and using a secluded spring instead, which meant he had to go along with her.  
"No, the weather will be cold by then," she hissed. Akari was inches from his face, her intense gaze meeting his, unwavering.  
"Then use the hot springs." He glared back, still trying to get his paperwork.  
She pulled her mask off, revealing her full red lips and delicate jaw line. "I said no." She had a smoky tantalizing voice and as it always did, her beauty stumped Sesshomaru. He stared at her for a moment taking in the women she had become; she wasn't a broken young girl fighting her nightmares any longer. She was powerful in her own right and talented in hand to hand combat. If it wasn't for the stone hidden under her shirt, she would have no need for a babysitter, no need for him.  
"Fine, but then you need to leave me alone so I can finish this census for my father." The sides of her lips twitched but her mask snapped back into place before he could see the impending smile. She jumped off his desk and opened the sliding paper door to the deck impatiently waiting for him to finish tying on his armor. He walked out on to the deck and looked down at the top of her head; he wrapped an arm around her narrow waist, noting her strong stomach, and ascended into the air, headed for the secluded pool of river water she prefe


	3. Part 3 (An Uneventful Moment)

Akari stood behind Sesshomaru, hands clasped behind her back watching the horde of demon clans as they filed into the manor. Toga called a meeting of not only the Inu Daiyokai Clan, but of all demon clans that called the West home. Many of the clans were under the protection of Toga and greatly admired him, even if he was of a different clan. It helped in the hundreds of years he ruled in the West that no one was able to defeat him in not only all out war but also in one on one combat. Many of the other clans had come to respect his son by proxy, expecting him to live up to the name his father had established.  
Rōyakan walked past with a group of Wolf Demons that resided in the Forest at the base of the mountains. Long ago he and his clan had been granted the title of 'Guardian of the Forest' for their unwavering support of the Great Dog Demon. Other Wolf clans had not been invited such as the wolf clans that dwelled in other mountains or the nomadic tribes. Most wolf demons hated the Dog Demon Clan, which was entirely mutual. Another group approached behind Rōyakan, a sub species of Dog Demon that looked more animal and had no true humanoid form. Many of them were dressed in furs and rags with little singing bells woven into their hair and belts. As more and more walked past to the manor's gathering hall Sesshomaru could feel Akari getting irritated. She didn't like crowds; the smells of other demons and sweaty bodies.  
He looked back at her and could see her at the bridge of her nose above her mask she was wrinkling her nose. Since his father announced the week before that there was going to be a grand meeting she had started grinding her teeth and picking at her nails. Not only had he invited the clans under his protection but also the Panther Demon Tribe. Many of the families in the Inu Daiyokai clan protested or outright dared to bare fangs at Toga. His son knew the true reason his father invited them, the last few years had been tense between the Panther Demons, humans and clans of the west. If things weren't resolved soon all-out war would be the only option left. Daisuke was all for a war and hadn't bothered keeping that opinion to himself, but that was to be expected of a general, they tended to feel idle when there were no skirmishes to plan for. Over the last few years there had been a divide between Toga and his brother-in-law, and many of the families were beginning to take sides for the impending divide in the clan.  
Almost at the same time, everyone seemed to pause and turn to look at the winding path of the mountain. The smell of cats wafted across the air and was almost overpowering. Akari hissed and took a step forward; Sesshomaru grabbed her arm and forced her back behind him. The first person to clear the corner was a tall blue haired woman in white and black armor and a sword at her hip. Next came a mountain of a man that was easily taller than the young lord himself and behind him came and red haired girl, a long tail flicking excitedly behind her. The Panther King himself hadn't even bothered to show up and instead sent an envoy.  
"They smell familiar," Akari stated, barley being restrained by Sesshomaru. They did smell familiar, and it only took him a second to place their particular sent. These three had been at the palace the night it fell, which meant that they may have also been involved in the theft of the Meido Stone along with Akari's capture. Daisuke, whom stood to Sesshomaru's left, noticed the struggle between the two.  
"Get her under control," he whispered under his breath, turning his gaze back to the three as they approached.  
Sesshomaru growled and dug his fingers into the flesh of her arm, yanking it behind him in hopes of shielding her from the eyes of others.  
The tall woman stopped in front of the group and gave a low mocking bow. "How nice it is to be greeted by such important members of the Dog Clan. Mighty Lord Sesshomaru and General Daisuke themselves. I am Tōran of the Leopard Cat Devas." She righted herself and gestured to the man and girl behind her. "My companions are known as Shūran and Karan, also of the Leopard Cat Devas." The two behind also gave low bows with snickering smiles on their faces.  
"Leopard Cats, not Panther Demons?" Diaskue asked after the formalities were done.  
Tōran narrowed her eyes at him. "No that is a common mistake; we are Leopard Cats which are common on the Continent. Calling us Panthers is considered rude."  
"Just as referring to us as Dog Demons is considered an insult to our clan," he replied, a smile on his face suggesting he had already been aware it was an insult to refer to them as Panther Demons.  
"Apologies. I had just assumed it was acceptable since your great lord goes by the name of Great Dog Demon," she said as she smiled and bowed again. Sesshomaru remained quiet, focusing on controlling the woman behind him.  
"To those that respect him, yes, it is acceptable. Now if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the meeting hall and introduce you to Lord Toga." He beckoned for them to enter before him. He turned to Sesshomaru "Get her out of here; I'll make excuses to your father. Just make sure she's kept busy till this is over." He walked after the trio.  
As Sesshomaru turned to Akari, the Tōran woman caught his eye, she was staring directly at Akari as she walked away. Her blue gaze fastened on her as if trying to place where they might have met before.  
As soon as the group was gone and the rest of the guests for the meeting had entered the hall, Sesshomaru dragged Akari away from the path and through the stunted trees that didn't grow well at this altitude. He reached a sheer drop and jumped, dragging her with him as it was the quickest way down the mountain and away from the Panther Demons' inquisitive eyes.  
"Get your hands off me!" Akari growled, wrenching her arm out of Sesshomaru's grasp. He stopped running as soon as they reached the clearing near where she bathed. It was far enough away that no one should be able to find them.  
She began prowling the clearing, walking back and forth in front of him in fast twitchy movements, getting herself more and more worked up. He reached out and lightly touched her shoulders, noting the bruises on her arm left by him. "You need to calm down."  
"I said get your hands off me!" This time she screamed rounding on him pulling her mask from her face.  
He put his hands up in surrender as watched her beautiful face. "They were there; I remember that big man being present during the raiding party. He killed Mother Superior." Her breathing was fast and heavy, her chest rising and falling rapidly, threatening a full break down.  
Sesshomaru was surprised, Akari never talked about her life before or her feelings after she had been brought back. Instead she just remained quiet, focusing on her task of protecting the stone hidden under her armor without complaint.  
"I know; I remember their smell in the palace the night we found you. They were gone before we could catch them, but I will always remember their stench." His monotone voice hinted a little towards anger. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, angry vengeance seeking tears. The tears weren't for what happened to her, instead they were for the women she spent her life with and watched die.  
She stared up at him. "You have to let me go after them. They have to die for what they did!" Akari was shrieking, body shaking from the venomous hatred flooding her veins. Her face was slowly transforming into that of an Inu Daiyokai's true monstrous form. Her nails were growing longer, and a deep growl sounded from deep in her chest. She was completely losing it and if she completed the transformation, one he had never seen, then there would be no stopping her. He was struck for a second at the transformation, impressed and capture by the beauty of her power.  
Without thinking, completely wrapped in how truly amazing she was and how much he wanted to keep her safe; Sesshomaru grabbed the back of her neck and crushed his lips to hers.  
For a moment nothing happened, she stood in his embrace shocked by the sudden feeling of warm flesh pressed against her lips. Without warning her transformation reversed, her arms wrapping fiercely around his neck, wet tears running down her face. The young lord was surprised at himself and unsure of what overtook him or what was supposed to happened next. He tried to pull away from her, for the first time in his long life uncomfortable and suddenly without confidence in himself.  
"No," she whispered, and pulled him back to her mouth. Akari parted their joined lips slightly and touch her soft tongue to his. The taste that was her flooded through him, engulfing him completely from the tips of his pointed ears to his toes. For a moment they did nothing but taste and touch one another, her hands fisted in his kimono top, his wrapped in her hair. When he did finally manage to break the kiss he looked at her lips, raw and red from his fierceness. At that moment he knew he could never part with her. Before he had realized it Sesshomaru had fallen in love with Akari.  
While exploring this new realization something peaked at the edge of his senses. He pushed the woman away from him, knocking her to the ground when a sharp piece of ice shot from the tree line and embedding his right shoulder.  
Akari laid on the ground for a heartbeat, reorienting herself to the situation, waiting for the adrenaline to overcome the shock in her system. The blood instantly flowed out of the deep wound in Sesshomaru's chest, whom just stood still staring at the strange knife. She watched as the colored drained from his face, his hand still half raised to the hilt. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, anger and rage grabbed ahold of her muscles and forced her into action.  
The attacker was still somewhere in the tree line, watching and waiting. Obviously Akari had been the target, if Sesshomaru hadn't pushed her down that knife would be embedded in the base of her skull, instant kill shot. The attacker was probably moving to a new position now that they were compromised. There were no sounds, no smell, nothing. Everything was eerily quiet, even to her enhanced senses, and reminded her of the day the shrine fell. There had been no sounds or smells that day either, which meant there was a high probability the knife in Sesshomaru's chest was coated in whatever had kept her from healing as well.  
Akari finally leapt into action, grabbing him as he sank to the ground, and started scanning the tree line again. She could feel his body growing cold from blood loss and shock, if she was going to do something it had to be now. She couldn't remove the knife or else he'd just bleed out instantly, but the clearing had no defendable position, so she was going to have to move him somewhere else. A whistling sound cut through the air. Using all her strength, she body rolled herself and Sesshomaru through the grass towards the river, another knife missing them by mere inches and embedding in the ground.  
He was unbelievably heavy between his armor and dead weight, so she wasn't going to be able to move fast and evade the flying ice. Her mind was reeling, trying to find a way to get them out of this situation. 'Think, think, think!' she angrily told herself as she looked around, she only had a moment before the attacker was in a new position to strike.  
"The river," Sesshomaru's breathless voice whispered from the ground. She looked down at his ashen face, his eyes slits as he looked to the rushing water. Of course, even dying he was still ever the tactician. She dug her fist onto other side on his kimono ignoring the hiss from him as she jarred the knife, keeping low to the ground as she dragged him to the edge. On this side if the clearing there was no shoreline, just a five-foot drop to the water. The drop wasn't a big deal, no it was the massive waterfall 30 yards down the river. Would she be able to drag them both out before the waterfall? Doubtful, but she couldn't think of any other way to save him.  
Another knife shot out ruining any other options they might have. "This is going to hurt." The young lord didn't say anything as he had lost consciousness. Akari pushed him and herself into the waiting cold winter water, praying they somehow managed to survive.


	4. Part 4 (By The Grace of Hell)

Akari sat on the cave floor, soaked and chilled to the bone watching her feet as she slowly took inventory of her injuries. Slowly she flexed, rotated and wiggled her muscles from her toes to her neck. Outside the obvious busted ribs, sprained wrist, cervical strain and deep laceration to her scalp which suggested a concussion, everything else seemed non-threatening. Thanks to the medical training Inukimi had provided over the years, Akari felt relatively sure she wasn't going to die. Now Sesshomaru, on the other hand, might not fare so well.  
She looked over at the wet heap of silk and fur that was her lord. The free fall over the waterfall would have killed a weaker man, but Sesshomaru, despite the knife wound in his chest, was still breathing. It was shallow, but still breathing. She had to admit, when she realized she didn't have the strength to pull the both of them from the flow of the river, she had been terrified. She could have gotten herself out, not the both of them and after their private moment earlier she knew she couldn't let him fall to his death alone.  
She took account of the underground/underwater cave. It was a marvel in itself, at the bottom of the water fall a strong current had sucked the two demons through a crevice in the rock which had surfaced in the cave. There was plenty of driftwood that had washed up over the years littering the floor and absolutely no light which suggested the only way in and out was the waterfall entrance. Akari absently fingered the stone at her throat and felt the warming hum rush through her. The stones dark song had become a constant companion through the years. She breathed for a moment, letting the song chase away some of the aches, pain and cold to clear her head so she could think of what to do next.  
Warmth was important for shock and there was fresh water but no food. She opened her eyes and crawled to Sesshomaru, rolling him to his back slowly. His face was pasty white, and his skin was cold to the touch. The woman slowly began to pull off his armor, kimono and pelt down to his under clothes. Starting at the top of his head, she began the same processes of checking him for external and internal damage, which relied a lot on touching since the patient was unconscious and no light. He seemed to have broken ribs like her and had some deep lacerations from the razor-sharp rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. Of course, the thing that worried her the most was the knife would in his chest. Sometime during their trip down the river, the knife's handle had broken, which meant she couldn't simply pull it out now and since the damn thing was like frozen glass if the blade itself had shattered it might be impossible to get all the shrapnel.  
First things first, even with her demon eyes she couldn't see well in the cave, so she needed a fire for heat and light. It took a few tries before she managed to get on her feet and limped to the edge of the pool where the driftwood had piled up. Finding the driest pieces, Akari dragged them close to where the lord lay slumbering and sat next to her pile, the energy draining from her. Again, she grabbed the stone and relied heavily on its strange other worldly power to give her the strength to continue. Black fuzz played around the corner of her eyes as the concussion threatened to knock her out. Taking a deep shuddering breath and ignoring the scream of her ribs as she filled her chest cavity with air and touched the wood. The power of fire was something unique to her as venom was unique to Sesshomaru, she didn't use it often in case someone recognized it and reported back to her family that she wasn't truly dead. Akari had come to terms with the fact she had no connection to her family anymore, that was a choice she had made long ago when she became a guardian at the shrine. Pretending that she was dead really hadn't been any different, all she had to do was make sure no one found out who she was or found out about the precious cargo she still protected.  
Akari breathed out, the air around her heating up and the hand that held the driftwood began to smolder. When the last of her breath left her lungs, the wood burst into flames finally lightening up the cave and the man on the cave floor.  
In the light he looked dead.  
Winded, she crawled over to him to take a better look at the wound in his chest. Luckily it had missed his heart. 'Small favors, right?' She smiled to herself, pulling a small steel dagger from her boot and sticking the blade in the fire.  
"Well my lord this will either kill you or make you wish you were dead. Let's hope you remain unconscious for the duration of this procedure because honestly, I'm in no shape to fight you." Talking was exhausting but helped distract her from her own injuries. She looked at the wound in his chest noting she had nothing that would help dig the knife out and found it odd that it hadn't melted. "Ok, here we go."  
She grabbed his left arm and tucked it under her knee hoping to restrain him enough to remove the strange ice knife. 'Just do it quickly,' she told herself, steadying her hand and heart. Before she could scare herself more, Akari dug her razor-sharp claws into the knife wound. Sesshomaru's breath hitched in his chest, his body slightly bowing off the hard rock surface.  
She shushed him softly like a mother soothing a child as she dug around the cold blade hoping she didn't hit an artery. After three heart wrenching minutes of listening to the powerful Dog Demon cry out in pain, her fingers finally found purchase and the blade came free. As soon as the blade left his flesh the wound began oozing again, blood running like a river over his pale chest. "Damnit!" She hissed; he didn't have much fluids left to lose. He was whimpering but thankfully still blacked out. What came next would be the hard part, Akari straddled the Lord using her knees to hold both arms, grabbed the white-hot knife from the fire and stuck it in the wound.  
Sesshomaru's eyes and mouth flew open, a gut curdling scream reverberating off the walls of the cave and across the whispering water. His eyes flashed red as he bared his fangs, then his body went limp as an eerie quiet settled around the cavern. Akari climbed from him slowly waiting for his chest to rise with a breath. Seconds ticked by as the silence became deafening, her eyes trained on his bare chest waiting.  
Her mouth went dry as she her breathing became labored, a sob hitching in the back of her throat and tears welling behind her eyes. 'Breathe, please, just BREATHE.'  
"Sesshomaru…" The silence continued until it was unbearable. "Fuck!" Akari began pushing his chest as his mother had shown her, trying to manually pump his heart. "Breathe damnit!"  
The stone at her throat began to buzz between her breasts, growing hot as its wraithlike song filled the cave, overcoming the sound of the demon's own labored breathing as she continued to resuscitate the man under her. The light grew and grew till it was blinding, making Akari screw her eyes shut and hiss against the pain of the hot stone on her skin as it began to physically burn her. "Sesshomaru, just breathe!" Her voice couldn't drown out the song on the Meido Stone.

________________

Everything hurt and protested as Sesshomaru turned his head and groaned. At first, he couldn't see anything in the dim light of a dying fire near him. The walls and ceiling swirled before the dark wet stone of the cave came into focus. The young lord was confused about the location he found himself in as he tried to think of the last thing he remembered. He was with Akari, he had kissed her actually and it had made him realize feelings he had denied for the better part of ten years.  
Sesshomaru, the son of the Great Dog Demon Toga and heir to the Western Lands was in love with Akari. He let some of the emotion flow through him as he laid on the cold damp floor, waiting for any stray memories that might indicate his location to make themselves known. Love was an emotion that had eluded him the last hundred years of his life, it wasn't often you found the concept of love in the Inu Daiyokai Clan. Great Demons like those of his species lived unbelievably long lives, easily around a thousand years like his father and mother. When someone faced an eternity like that then they tended to avoid emotion such as love. The idea of losing a partner and living hundreds of years missing them wasn't something anyone wanted for themselves. Most demons assumed Dog Demons were emotionless when in truth they just protected their hearts more than anything.  
No, love was an emotion for Lesser Demons and humans.  
He sighed, now that he was aware of his feelings there would be no ignoring it. A thought struck him, where was Akari? He didn't hear anything in the cave other than the occasional pop of wood on the fire and dripping of water down the walls.  
He tried to sit up and regretted it as burning pain shot from the left side of his chest. He stayed still for a moment waiting for nausea and swirling black pain in his head to subside. When his breathing evened out, he touched the spot where the pain was radiating from. Blisters and thick dead flesh covered a patch just above his heart. His chest was tender and spongy like someone had pounded on him with rocks. Right, now he remembered the icy knife meant for Akari and being thrown in the river. He had other flashes of memory; falling off a waterfall, something burning him, the smell of cooking meat and a usually quiet voice screaming his name.  
"Aka-." Sesshomaru's voice cracked from the lack of moister and attempted to clear his throat. "Akari?" Nothing, no whispering smoky voice back. Gritting his teeth, he sat up slowly as possible, holding his chest. His clothes lay in a damp pile near the embers of the fire and another pile of clothes lay heaped up next to him.  
Only it wasn't clothes, once his eyes adjusted and cleared, he could make out the curve of a pale hand and mass of dirty hair. Worried, he reached over and grabbed what he thought was a shoulder and using his remaining energy rolled the woman he loved over to him. Her hair was matted with mud, twigs and blood from a deep gash in her hair line. Lightly, he brushed her hair from her face and was relieved to see her lips spasm at the touch. He could hear her breathing now and see the slight rise and fall of her chest. He reached over and pulled his mostly dry fur to settle around them. All his energy gone, he laid back down next to her and lost himself to a healing sleep.  
"I'm guessing the attacker coated the knife in the same stuff they used on me all those years ago so it's going to scar," Akari stated as she looked at the botch job she did cauterizing the wound in his shoulder. Sesshomaru looked at the mass of scar tissue that now decorated his chest. It was odd for demons to carry scars since they healed fast, even with his healing working again it wouldn't be enough to fix it. "Sorry, I didn't know what else to do."  
He shook his head "If you hadn't, I might have died." The air was tense between the two since Akari woke up in Sesshomaru's arms and was relieved he had survived. Neither one was prepared to discuss what had happened in the clearing. "Are you going to tell me about that?" He motioned to her chest where the clothes were burned, and the skin was red. Unlike him, her burn would heal in a couple more hours, already better than the blister that had been visible when they woke up.  
"I'm not sure what happened, really. You weren't breathing and I was afraid you'd die and the stone just…reacted," she stated, a puzzled look on her brow.  
"The Meido Stone is a stone of hell, of life and death. You have been wearing if for a long time now so you must have some idea of its power," his monotone voice replied, watching her tear strips of cloth from her under robes.  
She stopped her work and stared at the new fire she had made. "It felt like the stone tethered your soul here, it made sure you didn't go to hell so I could resuscitate you." She shrugged and went back to tearing the cloth to bind his flailed chest. "Anyway, we need to get out of here and get you to your mother, my medical training will keep you alive, but you won't heal properly without her." He nodded and remained silent as he pondered her words.  
Once he was well enough to stand, the two demons had explored the cavern. It was much bigger than either one had anticipated, but after climbing between rocks and crevasses in the cave walls they found a narrow passageway that smelled of outside. It took an hour for them to make the trek back to the surface since they had to stop and rest several times, neither one having the energy to climb for extended periods of time. Eventually they clawed and dug their way out of a hole below an ancient weeping willow several yards from the river.  
Both laid under the willow to rest, allowing the wind to take their scent on the breeze to whomever might be searching for them. They could only hope it would be a friendly face that met them and not that of the assassin which hunted them the day before.


	5. Part 5 (Confessions in The Dark)

Akari was pleased the Inu Daiyokai Clan foot soldiers were the ones to find them, led by General Daisuke whom looked absolutely furious. The guards and soldiers had been running around the mountain, forest, and river trying to find the two since the evening before when they didn't return after the summit had concluded. When they caught the scent of Sesshomaru's blood in the clearing and nothing else, the military and family guards had gone into full panic mode. When Daisuke found the two-half dead sleeping under the weeping willow, covered in mud and blood, he started yelling at them. Sesshomaru bore it in annoyed silence while Akari laughed hysterically, nearing a nervous breakdown. The two were quickly whisked away to the mountain top manor where the lord and his mate stood awaiting the good news of their heir's safe return and the return of the stone.  
Inukimi immediately took her son to the medical ward where her handmaidens eagerly awaited to treat the injured man while Akari was dragged to Toga's office, where another handmaiden waited with soap, water and sterilized bandages.  
As soon as Akari was seated the girl began cleaning the deep gash on her scalp while Toga watched her intently. After a few minutes she couldn't stand the silence and waved the handmaid away.  
"It's strange seeing your face uncovered," he commented absently.  
"It's safe if that's what you wanted to know." She felt uncomfortable and naked now that he had pointed out her mask was gone. "The stone, I mean. It's safe."  
"Is that what they were after?" He asked as he continued staring at her.  
"The knife that Sesshomaru took was meant for me without a doubt and I'm sure it came from the Panther Demon Tribe."  
He leaned back in his chair. "That's a serious allegation considering we just reached some semblance of a treaty with them and the humans they 'assist'."  
"That's bull crap and you know it. Everything points to them. The man was there the night the shrine was attacked and Sesshomaru recognized the smell of the other two the night the palace fell."  
"But explain how neither of you could smell the assassin in the woods. Or how could you or your sisters not smell the people that attacked the shrine?"  
She thought about her theory and if it was worth telling him since she had no proof. The handmaiden had crept back to Akari and started to clean her face and arms looking for more half-healed wounds. "I think it's one person masking everyone's scents, sir."  
He raised a brow, his golden eyes so much like his son's. He remained quiet, urging her to continue. "I didn't smell anything at all, which is impossible, but the Panther demons that came had the fresh smell of a fourth person on them. I think this person can blend their scent and anyone they choose into the background. Like a chameleon, but with scent."  
"Do you have any proof?"  
"No, I don't but I know deep in my gut that this is the work of those damn cats and I think someone here is working with them."  
"That's quite the statement for someone relying entirely on their gut," he replied slowly. Akari felt angry and a little embarrassed. She couldn't explain it, the feeling that she got while in the clearing. The person hunting them had completely become one with the forest, no sight, smell or sound of them anywhere. It was almost like they had erected a barrier around their person and took on the sights and smells around them. Those three Panther demons had had another smell of a fourth person on them, one that had parted with the group not long before they had come to the summit. But how would they have known that the person wearing the stone would be separated from the meeting? There were only three people that could possibly be; her, Sesshomaru and General Diasuke.  
She couldn't point the finger at Toga's brother-in-law without solid proof, all she could do was keep an eye on him and hope she wasn't the only one who came to that conclusion.  
After Toga had asked a few more questions about what had happened, and the handmaiden was satisfied by her patch job, Akari walked quickly to her small room. She hadn't said anything about the kiss and kept the location on the cave to herself. There was going to be a time she was going to have to hide and there was no better place than that.  
After she washed up in the water basin in her room and dressed in fresh robes, she sat on her bed and thought about the kiss. What did it mean? How did she feel about the callous yet beautiful man whom she had shared so much of her life with but still didn't know? He was a quiet, unwavering force and heir to the Dog Demon clan. She had no right to think anyone would accept damaged goods like her as his mate, plus her being his mate would put her in the public eye. She was meant to live in obscurity to protect the stone, being with him would be the exact opposite of that.  
She sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs and stared out the tiny window of her room. The sun was setting already, and a cool breeze promising spring swept through the room. She lost track of time as the stars and moon came out, washing her meager belongings in silver light.  
A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts. She stood up and felt all her muscle protest, she hadn't realized how long she had been sitting. Limping, Akari opened the door and was instantly shocked as a clean Sesshomaru stood in her doorway.  
"Ummm…. come in," she whispered and moved back to allow him in. He looked much better, he was completely clean and smelled of medication. Some color had returned to his skin and he looked to have gotten some sleep, unlike her. She watched as he looked around her small room. In fact, this was the first time he had ever been in or seen her room. He walked around looking at the futon with the wrinkled blankets and desk with a few papers scattered across it. When he reached the standing closest, he paused and reached in to pull out the sleeve of a kimono. It was the kimono he had given her before she had died. The stains had been meticulously removed and the tears patched up.  
Sesshomaru turned to look at her, holding out the sleeve questioningly. "You never asked for it back and I like sleeping in it." She felt a blush creeping up her neck and wished she had her mask; she didn't like feeling exposed. Quietly he reached in and pulled the whole robe out and shook it out still not saying anything. He walked to her and draped the silk around her shoulders and stared into her face, his completely unreadable. Slowly he reached up and ran his thumb along her bottom lip, causing a shiver to run down her spine to her toes.  
"Are we going to talk about what happened?" His voice was low and sounded bored but the glint in his beautiful eyes suggested otherwise. Akari was exhausted and drained but standing so close to him was exhilarating, and the stone around her neck began to hum happily. His fingers were soft as they traced her lips and then slid up to the demon wisps on her cheek bones.  
"I don't know what to say," she whispered, rooted and unable to move as her heart hammered against her rib cage.  
Sesshomaru's lip twitched. "I love you, Akari. I think I have loved you since the day I found you in that cell. You were so young but had fought tooth and nail to protect that stone. You were willing to give up your life for it." He leaned down and spoke even lower, his breath tickling her pointed ear. "You're strong, loyal, cunning, and beautiful."  
She stopped breathing as she processed the words. Akari remember when he walked into the cell, she could still smell the sweat and anger radiating off of him. She also remembered the shame she felt at how relived she was he was there and shame at seeing the realization on his face when he saw what those disgusting humans had done to her. Soiled, damaged goods.  
"Whatever you're thinking, stop." His lips brushed her ear and her breath hitched in her throat. His fingers slid down her jaw and neck, stopping at the humming stone. "It's warm," he murmured, more to himself then anyone.  
"It's always warm." She was finally breathing again, almost enjoying the electricity his touch left on her skin. She didn't have an answer for him, she wasn't positive how she felt about him. She did know that even if it was for just one night, she wanted to be with him. Akari knew she wanted him when she woke up in his embrace in the cave, the feel of his bare chest and the masculine sound he made low in his throat when he slept. Was that fair to him though, to use him for one night of bliss as he poured his heart out to her? The Meido Stone's hum turned low, almost as if to ask, 'What are you going to do?' The stone had a weird way of reacting to her emotions and thoughts, almost as if it were a sentient being.  
"Do you want to go to the hot springs with me?" The woman finally asked when the tension and his touch was almost too much for her to bear. Sesshomaru's hand paused on her collar bone and looked at her questioningly. "I'm dirty and I doubt we should leave the manor anytime soon. No one will be there." Her words were a little jumbled as the tune of the stone crawled into her brain, soothing away her fears.  
"I'll go with you." His eyes searching hers, a small smile tugging on the corner of his perfect lips.  
He watched as she kept her back to him, quickly testing the temperature of the water with her big toe. Satisfied it wouldn't burn her, she stepped in, letting her body adjust to the water. Once the water was above her shoulders, she pulled the bathing robe off and threw it in a wet heap on the stone edge and using her arms she covered her chest. Sesshomaru patiently waited for her to look at him and enjoyed the sight of her silver hair piled on her head. She had a long delicate neck he wanted to kiss. These emotions and urges where becoming bothersome, as if some primal instinct had awoken in him when he realized he loved her.  
He could tell she was uncomfortable by his confession which was fine because he could also see the need in her eyes when he touched her. He swam behind her and stood up in the water which came to his chest. She stopped breathing again as he traced the scars on her naked back. He felt every inch of her skin and ran a finger along the chain of the stone she bore. When she didn't move, he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck, feeling the goosebumps crawl across her pale flesh. "Tell me to stop, tell me you don't want me, and I'll leave." The steam was thick and the water warm with the slight smell of sulfur. "It's ok if you don't have an answer for my confession…and it's alright to want me despite not feeling the same way."  
Akari spun in his arms and searched his face for any hint of a lie. He wasn't sure what answer she found in his face but whatever it was led her to reach around his neck and kiss him. This kiss and being with her, if only physically, was enough for now. She needed to decide what she wanted or how she felt. He would give her time and until then he would be here in her arms with the taste of her body on his tongue.  
For now, that would be enough.


	6. PART 6 (Mud in The Bloodline)

News had reached the Inu Daiyokai Clan's mountain home of movement to the west of the Forest of Plight. Panther Demon Tribe and the human lands were on the move, their respective armies preparing themselves for war. Like Toga had predicted, their presence at the summit had been nothing more than a tactic. The Panther Demon Tribe would never agree to peace with the Clans and Tribes of the West, they had long wished to break free of the Inu Daiyokai rule and attack the Eastern land that were mainly made up of human lands and they would use the humans of the West to bolster their numbers.  
The West had finally reached its breaking point, which all seemed to start with the attack on the shrine. The Panther King was no idiot, he knew as soon as they assisted the humans with the attack there was no turning back, but he nor the humans or the mysterious third party managed to get the stone. Whatever their plans had been they were going to continue without the stone.  
Toga had hoped to discover more from their motives by inviting them to the summit, instead all the leader of the Leopard Cats Devas did was make snide comments and look agitated. Maybe Akari was right, the only reason they had come was to look for the Stone and someone had given them the tip that it would be at the meeting. Toga shook his head and looked at his son, he couldn't afford to start mistrusting his own clan and the clans loyal to him at the moment. If the numbers his scouts reported were true, then they were looking at army he might not be able to defeat.  
Toga studied his son, who stood at the window reading the reports. He seemed different these last couple of weeks, he stood straighter and his jaw had a new determined set to it. Coincidentally, he hadn't seen much of Akari since their talk in his office, he got the distinct feeling she was avoiding him either due to their last conversation or something else. Maybe he would have his mate talk to her.  
"This is unsettling," Sesshomaru murmured when he finished the report. "These numbers are astronomical Father. We can't fight this army." He looked at his father who gave him a grim smile.  
"You're correct, even with the might of the Inu Daiyokai Clan and those sworn to us we are severely outnumbered." He walked up and stood next to his son and looked out over their lands. "We are going to have to make some hard choices son. We can't leave the West defenseless, but we may well destroy ourselves defending it."  
"What are you thinking?"  
Toga put his hands behind his back and pointed with his chin to the west. "The human lands that lay between here and the sea have always been quiet and thankful for the protection we offer. I'm thinking of going to the lord there and asking for his assistance."  
Sesshomaru growled low in his chest and looked at his father. "Yes, they are thankful for our protection with one breath and curse us with the next. The lord of that area won't go against us but that doesn't mean he will help."  
Toga was quiet for a moment as he continued to stare out over the lands, a battle raging inside him as he struggled to deiced to tell his son something that only his mate knew. After a few moments he decided it was time to tell him. "Son, sit, we need to talk about something." He motioned to a low chair next to his desk, which Sesshomaru refused.  
Toga shrugged and cleared his throat. "Son do you have something to protect?"  
Sesshomaru was thrown off guard at the question. He briefly thought about his mother and their family. They were all strong and capable of taking care of themselves and the others of the clan were more than capable of defending themselves. Then there was Akari, the beautiful woman whom for the last few weeks had been sharing his bed. He knew his feelings for her, but she was still reluctant to share anything outside of her body, her mind still closed to him. He felt protective of her, but she wasn't someone who needed protecting anymore. Finally, he shook his head, "No, Father, I have no one to protect."  
Toga sighed, fearing that would be his son's answer. "Do you know why I created the Tessaiga?"  
"Other than wanting a powerful sword that can actually cut unlike the first you made?" He replied, confused.  
"No son, I created it for the woman I love, to protect her no matter the cost to me," he stated slowly.  
The younger man was really confused now. His parents had a good working relationship, they were friends and that was about the extent of it. He had never once heard his father refer to her as the woman he loved.  
"Fifteen years ago, I was traveling through the human lands on my way to speak with the leader of the Wolf Tribe when I happened upon a young human girl that was lost," his father started as he sat down and watched his son. "She had never seen a demon like me before and even though she was afraid, she was still kind. I helped her find her way home, which turned out to be the palace of the lord there. She was a princess and was already promised to one of her father's vassals when she became a woman. Her father was grateful that I returned his daughter and helped form the pact we have now. A couple of years ago, I returned to the palace and found she had indeed grown into a beautiful and kind woman." He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. He son could feel a pit in his stomach as he realized where his father's story was headed. "I love her son, and we have recently been married. It was on the day I met her I decided to create the Tessaiga, to protect her."  
Sesshomaru was eerily quiet as he processed the words. His father, the greatest demon to ever live, was married to a human woman? "Does your 'mate' know this?" He spat out the word sarcastically.  
"Of course she does, there isn't anything I would hesitate to tell her."  
His father's words were drowned out by the sound of blood rushing through his body. The pounding of his heart was louder than anything as it rammed against his rib cage. His hands were shaking as he thought about the weak and useless woman that dared call his father husband, a damn human.  
"You disgust me," he whispered, finally looking his father in the eye. The man he looked up to and worshiped had just betrayed everything their clan held sacred. Pure lines to ensure their clan continued had always been the most important thing, and their leader just went and married a human.  
When his father didn't reply, Sesshomaru turned and stormed from his fathers' study.

________________________________ 

Akari felt his anger and irritation before he crested the hill where she rested after sword practice, having removed her kimono to sit in a cotton under robe. The days had turned warm recently, chasing away winter. Her hair hung loosely down her back, damp with sweat. As soon as Sesshomaru spotted her, he walked swiftly to her and laid his head down in her lap. She froze, looking at him confused and unsure of what to do with this newfound closeness. He covered his face with the back of his hand and watched her face through his long delicate fingers. She raised an eyebrow at him, asking what was wrong. Akari had reverted back to her quietness, which was comfortable for her but irked Sesshomaru to no end. He watched her for a moment, looking into her captivating gold eyes and watching the wind play with the stands of her hair on her face. The young lord reached up and popped the clasp of her mask and pulled it free to see her naked face.  
Something was definitely wrong with him but there was no point in asking, if he wanted to talk about it, he would. Instead he lay in her lap watching her and playing with the fly away strands of hair. She stayed still and allowed him to comfort himself since she had no idea how to. It felt nice, just sitting in silence and watching him think through whatever was troubling him.  
Akari still hadn't given him an answer to his confession and was still unsure of how she felt, and yet being with him these last few weeks had been something she found oddly pleasing. She smiled slightly and ran a finger a cross his lips and traced the purple marks on his face. He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth to his in a warm and needy kiss. She allowed the kiss to sweep through her and quiet her mind as it did his. Sesshomaru pulled himself up and pushed her to the ground, her body settled under him perfectly as he continued to pepper her face and neck with kisses. She ignored the bite of his armor as it cut in her flesh and smiled as excitement screamed through her at the thought of what he would do next.  
"Isn't that sweet?" The voice sounded happy and carefree, but it sent rivers of ice flooding through Akari's vein and instantly felt aggressive and angry.  
Diasuke stood next to them with a lazy grin on his face, having caught his nephew in such a position. His braid flapped in the spring breeze and his skin was pink from exertion, probably returning from a security check. Sesshomaru sat up slowly while Akari lay on the ground, openly glaring at the intruder.  
"Does your father know about this little…development?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow and folding his strong warrior arms.  
The younger man ignored him and reached down to help Akari to her feet and handed her the mask which she quickly snapped back into place. "It's none of his concern, really." His voice low with a slight edge of resentment, which none of those present missed. She looked at her lover questioningly, was the reason he seemed so upset due to his father?  
Diasuke was thoughtful for a moment. "I see he told you about your new stepmother." Sesshomaru lashed out punching his uncle in the face, who staggered back holding his throbbing jaw. He looked almost shocked, not just at the bout of anger but the power behind the fist. Only now was he truly beginning to understand the budding power of his nephew.  
"I will not have that woman's lineage linked with mine Uncle; I would advise you to watch your words," he seethed, his eyes wide with unbridled fury. The two stood staring at each other, an unspoken power struggle passed between the two silently. She wasn't sure who won but eventually they both relaxed, the tension bleeding away. "I wondered why you two were at odds these past few years. I understand now."  
Diasuke shrugged. "I love and respect your father, but I will not stand by and allow him to muddy our clan with half-breeds."  
Akari had finally had enough with being left in the dark, she slapped Sesshomaru's arm and glared at him. He looked at her, surprised as if he had forgotten she was there, which pissed her off even more.  
"I'll tell you later," he stated, dismissing any questions she might have and returned to his uncle. "How many people know about this?"  
"As far as I know, just us. But if or when the other families, tribes, and clans find out I fear there will be a riot on our hands. We can't afford that right now with a war on the horizon." Akari felt herself relaxing around him, he seemed to care a great deal for the clan and his nephew. Maybe she had been wrong about him, maybe there was another explanation for how the Panther Tribe seemed so well informed. "But don't fret nephew, your secret is safe with me." He winked at her.  
Never mind, she still didn't like him.


	7. Part 7 (A Mother Knows Best)

The day after being caught by Diasuke, Akari wandered through the twisting halls of the mansion, bored beyond death. Being put on lock down after the attack meant she wasn't allowed to leave the safety of the mountain top for any reason. Bathing in the hot springs every night was putting her on edge, she hated the smell of sulfur and the way the minerals in the water caked to her skin. The only silver lining to bathing at the mansion was the presence of Sesshomaru meticulously washing her every night. She stopped walking and shook her head. She didn't have time for such thoughts at the moment, she frowned and mentally scolded herself. She still wasn't prepared to consider any possible feelings for him, they were preparing for war and she was spending her days trying to catch Diasuke doing something shady like today or working on her sword play. But her nights were filled with the heavenly being formally known as Sesshomaru, so trying to ignore her feelings was getting difficult and complicated.  
She shook her head and ground her teeth in frustration. Feelings, fuckin feelings! Now she lost Diasuke in the maze of hallways, his scent completely disappearing at the top of the stairs leading to the third floor of the mansion. Her ridiculous female thoughts had gotten in the way yet again.  
While walking up and down the hallway to find his scent again when she caught the end of a familiar sleeve disappearing in though the wall from her peripherals. Well not the wall exactly, upon further investigation there seemed to be a panel in the wall that appear loose. When she pushed on it, a small portion of the wall slid open, revealing a long, dim, yet clean hallway. Poking her head in to listen, she slowed her breathing and controlled her heart rate that had begun to race at the thought of the man that was tormenting her troubled mind. After a few moments she heard Sesshomaru's voice float down the hallway, followed by the monotone drawl of a female.  
Akari slipped in the door and slowly closed it behind her. Stepping slowly and quietly, she walked till she found herself in a large chamber in the heart of the mansion. Lattice partitions separated the room from the hallway she stood in, revealing candlelight and a woman sitting on a throne like chair in the middle. Sesshomaru's mother was clad in many layers of silk robes, eating small red berries from a jade bowl next to the throne. Akari had heard the maids and servant of the house talking about a secret room where Inukimi spent most of her time when not with Toga or in her floating palace. She knew she should turn back and pretend she hadn't been there at all, but the sound of her almost lover's voice, angry and shaky stopped her. She sat on the floor and looked past the wooden designs of the lattice partition and listened.  
"How can you be so calm, Mother? He married a human! At some point she will bare him a child- no, a half breed." Sesshomaru was more worked up then Akari had ever seen him. His usually smooth face and low voice where twisted with rage, his fists clenched at his side as he watched his mother eat.  
The beautiful woman sighed and stood, walking to her much taller son. She stood on her toes and touched his face soothingly. "Son, your father has always been an idealist. I knew this of him when I agreed to be his mate and have his child. I love your father dearly but neither of us shared deeper feelings." She patted his cheek before walking past him to a table with a crystal jug and cups. She poured two cups of red wine and handed one to her son, who didn't drink it. "When Toga became interested in the human, I advised him what would happen when the Clans found out. He believes his reputation will be enough to protect us." She took a long pull from the cup before walking back to her seat.  
"I don't care about our reputation or safety; I care about you and this abomination to our family line." He gestured violently with the cup, splashing red wine on the gleaming wooden floor. Inukimi pursed her lips and motioned for an imp to go and clean the floor. The little green demon squeaked and rushed forward to take the cup and clean up the mess. Sesshomaru glared at it till it disappeared through a door on the other side of the room.  
Akari's face scrunched up in confusion. Had the Great Dog Demon really up and married a human woman? The conversation between Uncle and Nephew the day before stated to make sense now and Sesshomaru's sour mood was more than warranted if this information were true.  
"Son, it is already done, there is nothing we can do now other then try to survive this war and the after math when others find out." Her words may have seemed harsh and dismissing, but Inukimi rarely ever showed any emotion or interest in things that didn't directly affect her. The young lord may be strong like his father, but it was his mother he took the most after, calm and beautiful… well, usually calm.  
He huffed at her response and turned to compose himself. Akari stopped breathing as his eyes turned to the wall she hid behind. At first, she thought he had seen her, but after a moment he turned back to his mother with his emotions more under control. "What will you do now Mother?"  
"I'll be returning to the floating palace of the Moon Fang Clan till this war is over. Your father no longer needs my council and I will just be in the way." She steepled her fingers and sat back.  
"So that's it? You're just going to run away?" He shot back, his voice low and bitter.  
"Don't be a child Sesshomaru." She appeared so young, but her eyes were sharp with wisdom and age no one present could even fathom. She stared at her son with a look that could flay skin. "If and when I am needed, you will be able to find me, but my life here has come to an end." Her face softened for a moment when her son looked at her like a scolded child. "I will always be your mother, but it's time for me to leave."  
It was so final, Akari felt for Sesshomaru. His world was coming apart at the seams and yet he was expected to be of sound mind for the upcoming battle. He bent down and kissed his mother on the cheek, his kiss lingering before he pulled back and walked away though the opposite door he had entered through. His mother sat for a moment, sadness flickering for a second on her porcelain face as she listened to the receding footsteps.  
Akari stood up, legs aching from the crouched position she had been in and moved to sneak back out.  
"Do you make it a habit to skulk about my private chambers often?" Akari froze and held her breath. Inukimi was looking straight at her, even though she couldn't possibly see her. The older woman tapped her nail on the arm of the chair, waiting, her lips turned up in what could almost be described as an amused smile. The air wooshed out of Akari's lungs as she turned and walked to the opening of the room.  
Once in front of Sesshomaru's mother, she bowed low to show her respect but stuck to her usual quietness. Inukimi stood, silk robes rustling with the motion, and began to walk around Akari with her predatory gaze. She could feel the women's stare strip away her flesh to look at the person hidden deep within her. "So, you have stolen the heart of my son. Tell me, do you share his bed for glory or because you care for him?" Akari's eyes widened as she whipped around to lock eyes with the voracious gaze of the fearsome woman.  
Inukimi laughed without joy at the shock she found in the girl's face. "Take that silly mask off child, let me look at you." She returned to her seat and waited expectedly for her to obey.  
Slowly, the younger woman popped the clasp of her silver mask and pulled it from her face. The two looked at each other for a few minutes, neither of them speaking as they sized each other up.  
"If I remember correctly, you come from the Sky Cloud Family, yes?" During the years Akari studied under her during her medical training they had never really spoken or gotten close. So far, this was the most Inukimi had ever said directly to her. She nodded to answer the question. "Speak girl, I don't feel like playing games today."  
"Yes, My Lady, I come from Sky Cloud," she whispered, gripping the mask in her hand.  
"That makes us cousins. Tell me, Cousin, what are your intentions toward my son?" Akari couldn't tell if she was amused by this whole exchange and was just trying to make her uncomfortable, or if she was genuinely interested in the status of their relationship. Akari kept quiet.  
The woman waited for a moment. "I was there the day my son met you. Toga had resurrected you, but you didn't wake for days afterward. I administered to you myself for the first two days to make sure you didn't die again." She was thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "I saw what those men did to you. It is rare for a woman whose been through what you have to ever be intimate with a man again."  
Akari swallowed, her throat feeling dry and scratchy all of a sudden. She didn't think about the past much anymore; in fact, she hadn't spoken about it once until those cat bastards had shown up at the summit. Sesshomaru, for all his faults, was not like any other men to begin with, human or otherwise. He had taken his time with her, never going beyond what she wanted or was capable of. He seemed fine with touching and rubbing as long as they were both naked and she slept with him through the night. All he seemed to want was to taste her, feel her and pull her over the edge with his fingers then wrap her in his arms to sleep. Maybe she was still hung up over what happened somewhere in the back of her mind and that's why she never pushed for more, and he loved her (or so he said) and wouldn't push her for more. The more she thought about it, the more she realized what a great man he truly was under his stony exterior.  
Akari realized that even after all these years, what had happened in that cell was still affecting her and would continue to no matter how hard she ignored it. Now she was mad at herself for being so damn weak. She reached up and touched the stone between her breasts to feel the warmth of it and let it calm her.  
Inukimi's eyes followed the gesture. "To my knowledge, no one has ever been in physical possession of the stone for as long as you have. There's not much known about that stone, only that it was a stone of hell and has a mind of its own, even speaks. It's said that it can open portals to hell and control armies of Hell spawn. I wonder if that's true." She looked at her expectantly.  
Akari swallowed again and cleared her throat. "It doesn't speak, but it sings."  
"What song does it sing?"  
"It's sad and mournful, it misses its home and wishes to return there."  
"It wishes to return to hell?" She asked skeptically.  
Akari shrugged, removing her hand from the stone. "It just wishes to return home. But there is power that's more than just creating armies of undead. It saved Sesshomaru's life when he was wounded and poisoned. It kept his soul from going to hell."  
"Why would the Meido Stone exert so much energy for one man?"  
She was quiet, thinking through the moment in the cave when the stone came alive and burned her with its hell fire. "Because I asked it to."  
They were both quiet for a moment. "It seems the Stone knows you better then you know yourself."  
Akari was confused by the statement and the implications behind it. Inukimi just smiled with her wise eyes shining. Unsure of what to do to ease the tension in the room, she asked the first question that popped in her head, "Are you really going to leave him? He needs you."  
The older woman looked away, looking at the lavish décor of her private sanctuary; silk tapestry, jade vases and other expensive amenity's Toga had presented to her over the centuries. All of them were meaningless bobbles that held no real value to her. "As I told my son, it's time for me to move on and it's time for him to leave the nest. He needs to step out from his father's shadow and find his own way in life. All that I hope is he will have someone at his side to share the trials of life with him." She gave a pointed look to the perplexed woman. After a moment of silence, she sighed and waved Akari away, weary from the day's conversations.  
The younger woman bowed again and turned to leave, casting a last look at the woman who was once Toga's mate, who now looked almost deflated. An emotion Akari wasn't used to feeling found its way up her throat and lodged there. She pitied the woman as much as she pitied the son, both whose lives had been ruined because of one man's actions.  
"Did you have a nice heart to heart?" Sesshomaru's monotone voice sounded once Akari shut the panel to the hidden hallway. Surprise flashed across her skin, followed by embarrassment at having been caught eavesdropping on his private conversation. It was hard to tell if he was angry or just disappointed. Stopping directly in front of him, she looked up at him sheepishly. He stared back, blank faced as she studied him, breathing slowly through his nose as if he was gobbling up her scent. She wasn't sure why, but she reached out and took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips, pressing a reassuring kiss in his palm. Even if she wasn't sure what she wanted or needed or felt. There was one constant she felt to her bones, she would spend her life at his side. A part of her said she wanted to stay with him to pay the blood debt she owed him when he saved her life, a deeper part of herself replied back calling her a liar, which she promptly ignored. "What was that for?" He inquired lightly, his face softening slightly.  
She ignored the question. "Go away with me. Even if it's just for the night, I want to disappear for a moment before our world is set on fire and our lives put on the line." Her voice was almost pleading when she looked in his eyes to impress upon him how much she just wanted to be alone with him, away for his father and mother and away from Diasuke.  
"We can't leave the mountain, there is a battle on the horizon." Sesshomaru stated, shaking his head, pushing her back slightly so he could walk away.  
"You're a good soldier Sesshomaru, you go into battle with your father and uncle with no guarantee of a tomorrow, whenever it is required of you or not. You always do your duty. Just be selfish for a moment." Akari tried to grab his hand again, but he jerked it from her reach and continued to walk down the hall.  
"Please!" She shouted. He paused, stunned at the sound of her voice, which usually was either a whisper or nonexistent. She was just as stunned at her own voice, it sounded like it had they day to Panther Demons had come to the mountain and she had lost her senses. The beautiful man turned and looked back at her. She could feel herself shaking slightly, her breathing uneven. This day was wearing on her nerves, which were already frayed with the tension of the impending war. "Please," she said again, quieter, looking up at him though her lashes, shamed at her outburst.  
He stood in the hall, thinking through the implication of what would happen if they left the mountain when his father had given the order that no one was to leave besides the scouts. After an eternity, he finally reached his hand out to her. "One night, then we must be back before were missed." His voice was hard and cold, but his eyes shone with a hint of excitement at her need to be with him. Akari felt like it was time to put everything behind them, she was ready to physically be with him completely and to comfort him to the best of her abilities. Besides, she could die during the battle or die choking on a seed, either way she wasn't about to go down without staking her claim on Sesshomaru. She might not be willing to face any feelings she may have about him, but she was damn well going to make sure she claimed the rest of him.  
Was it selfish? Yes, and Akari was beyond caring. All she wanted was him.  
As the two walked away hand in hand, Diasuke stepped from his hiding place where he watched the day's events unfold. With his sister leaving for her floating palace and Toga already on his way to the human lord to ask for assistance and to see his frail little wife- the mountain would be without a leader. Now that Sesshomaru was abandoning his post to go frolicking with his little female, now was the time to make his move. He had waited so long to get his hands on that stone and to take over the Clan, and finally he had his chance. That little bitch screwed him over last time when she hadn't given up the stone and had continued to mess up his plans when they realized it was now bound to her being. Toga and his sister hadn't been sure what would happen to the stone if she were killed and had put his son in place to watch it. Then Akari had grown suspicious of him and following him after the attack during the summit which made it hard for him to move around unrestrained. He had a plan now to get the stone and they had just given him the perfect opportunity to see it thru.  
He smiled and walked the opposite direction of the couple, happily whistling a victory tune to himself.


	8. PART 8 (A First Time for Everything)

They made their way down the mountain, avoiding scout posts and check points easily, running swiftly on their powerful demon legs, making very little sound. Even moving at top speed, it took them an hour to reach the destination Akari had in mind. Sesshomaru followed her quietly, wondering where she was leading him, a growing sense of excitement building up under his skin. Once they crossed the river and stopped in the heart of the Forest of Plight, he realized she was headed for the willow tree that covered one of the entrances to the underwater cave.  
It didn't take long for them to slip in the entrance obscured by the large roots of the ancient tree and reach the cavern. It was much easier to make their way down since neither one was on the verge of death or collapse. Once inside, Akari dragged wood to the middle of the cavern and, with her gift, started a small fire for warmth and light. The orange flames of the fire pushed back the darkness of the cavern and surrounded its two occupants in a soft glow. Both stood for a moment, catching their breath, admiring each other's sweating, disheveled appearance from the fire's flickering light.  
Once his breathing evened out, Sesshomaru pointed to the bag Akari had dropped on the floor once they entered and asked, "What's that for?"  
She pulled her mask off and gave him a nervous smile before she opened the bag to reveal several silk and cotton blankets packed as tightly as possible in the medium leather bag. She began pulling them out and laying them on the floor, purposely trying to ignore the eyes on her back. Once she had a small bed made, she walked to the young lord and pulled his fur pelt from his shoulder to also lay it on the floor. He looked skeptically at the makeshift bed and back to her, searching her face for any hint of what was going on in her head.  
Nervously, Akari smiled, it was a small smile and one of few he had even witnessed in his time with her. His stomach twanged, he had never tried to make her smile or laugh more in their lifetime, that just wasn't the type of person he was and after her earlier life experiences, neither was she. Maybe if she had been untouched and free to continue her life in the shrine with her sisters, she would have had more laughs and fun in her life. The guilt of what happened to her and how long it took for them to find her was always there in the back of his mind, reminding him every day that he and his father had failed the protectors of the shrine and the young girl horribly beaten and raped in an underground cell for days.  
"Stop it." Her harsh whisper was a shock, snapping him out of his head to focus on her. Akaris serious face was inches from his, her shining golden eyes almost level with his as she pushed up on her toes. "I hate that. That regret and guilt in your eyes whenever you look at me. I'm alive thanks to you." She took his face in her warm hands, trying to make him understand her feelings. "I hated you for saving me, I hated you and your father for brining me back from death and I blamed you for the Medio Stone being bound to me. That hate was from a child, I still hate the Panther Demon cunts and humans involved with what happened to me and my sisters, but not you. I never said it before, thank you My Lord." Her face softened in a way that made his chest ache and before he knew it she was in his arms, his finger knotting in her smooth hair and his lips crushed against hers.  
A small surprised sound escaped Akari's mouth before being enveloped in his kiss, his lips demanding and angry as Sesshomaru forced out his frustration and anxiety on her delicate mouth. He needed her more than ever at this moment, he needed her to understand that when he said he loved her it was more than words, he would need her by him for the rest of their obscenely long lives. She allowed his hard kiss, patient and understanding, and finally after a few heartbeats his kiss slowly changed. Akari parted her lips at his softening kiss, her tongue slipping out to lightly caress his. The taste of her was intoxicating and shot to his head in a matter of seconds, he could feel his blood pounding through his veins, the sounds heavy and thick like his excitement and… like hers. He could also hear and feel her pounding heart through the artery in her neck under his fingers, he could even smell her excitement when he inhaled.  
Not sure if he could stop himself, his brain struggling against the primitive need to be with her no matter the cost, he dug his fingers into her scalp and pulled her away. His breathing was ragged, his body shuddering with each breath as he stared at the woman he loved. She stared back at him, her lips red and throbbing, an almost shy look in her eyes as she rubbed the tender spots on the back of her head. He continued to watch her, scared of touching her again and not wanting to chance his sexual instincts.  
With slow, deliberate movements, Akari pulled the sash at her waist loose and allowed it to drop the cave floor, her cotton robe falling open to reveal her blue dyed breast band. Instantly, Sesshomaru stopped breathing, every sense he possessed narrowing in on her slow, sensual movements, enticing him to continue. When he didn't make a move, she shrugged the robe off her shoulders and allowed it to crumple to the floor. Next, she untied the silk band on the top of her pants while simultaneously toeing off her boots, allowing her billowing pants to fall to the ground. She stepped away from her clothes in nothing but the breast band and modesty wrap that covered from her hips to mid-thigh. Still he didn't move, instead he stared at the scars on her smooth, strong legs and the thick scars on her hips and flat stomach. She tried to cover herself with her arms, instantly feeling ashamed. He had never really looked at her with so much light around them.  
Sesshomaru's hand shot out, grabbing her wrists and prying her arms away from her body. He wasn't disgusted by the sight. No, he felt pride for a moment at what she could overcome. He bent down and kissed her again while he ran his fingers up her arms, over her shoulders and down her back till he could feel the flat knot in the breast band. She sighed against his lips as he loosened it and dragged it away, freeing her breasts. Once she was freed from the band his fingers traveled down the small of her back to the top of the modesty cloth. Her breath hitched as he gently tugged it down her hips and pushed her back towards the makeshift bed. A thrill ran up his spine as she moved with him to the bed and pulled him down on top of her.  
\-------------------------------------- He was heavy, and his armor bit into Akari's breasts as he leaned over her, smashing the stone deep in her flesh, his lips hungry on hers as if he intended to consume her. She shifted under him, trying to alleviate the pain and get comfortable. When that didn't work, she began to pull off his armor and silk kimono top. Struggling with all the clasps and knots, she grew frustrated and growled, pulling roughly on it. It felt like he smiled against her lips and began to undress himself, easily popping the clasps and pulling on the right ties, till the armor came away from his body, he sat up for a moment and threw the armor across the cave floor, ignoring the clatter of the metal as it reverberated off the walls. He locked eyes with her as he pulled off the rest of his attire, listening to her breathing catch in her throat as her excitement grew with every layer he removed. This was the most naked she had ever felt in her entire life, she was so exposed with every molecule in her body on high alert as she mentally prepared herself for the impending culmination.  
Finally, they both were without clothes, exposed to the cave's chilling air despite the crackling fire, their eyes trained on one another. The moment stretched between them, trying to convey their feelings to one another with nothing but the intense gaze, till Sesshomaru leaned down and kissed the soft skin between Akari's small, round breasts. Involuntarily, her back arched off the ground, pressing her bare skin deeper into his. She gasped as he moved his mouth in a long, slow trek over her chest, down her stomach and navel, tasting every inch of her skin and scars. Falling deep into the feeling of his tender yet demanding lips, she allowed herself to get caught up in the pleasure that was Sesshomaru and urged him on when he pulled back, looking to her on his elbows, his eyes asking again if it was alright to continue. When she nodded, biting down on her lip, she could hear him sigh. Something rubbed at her entrance and her focus narrowed to the spot between her thighs. Akari dug her fingers into Sesshomaru's hair as she held her breath, waiting for him to move, the tension threatening to tear her apart. When his mouth caught hers in a surprise kiss, he pushed into her as slowly and as gently as he possibly could, his tongue and lips distracting her momentarily from his incursion inside her.  
She gasped against his mouth, her finger tangling in his long silver hair as she tried to focus, but the feeling of him pushing slowing in and out of her felt odd, yet remarkable while his tongue tasted astounding and tickled her ears and neck, pulling her mind from one spot to another. After a few moments to let her adjust to him, he began to move faster and faster till he had a strong constant motion that hit all the right spots. Sesshomaru cradled the back of her head with one hand while the other ran a constant course along her side, stomach and breasts, leaving a tingling feeling in his fingers' wake. Every place he touched or kissed added to the pleasure building under her skin, a pressure building up in the hot depths of her abdomen. She moaned low in her throat as the pressure continued to build and her mind and thoughts began to slip away to the darkness between the stars. Akari knew she was pulling aggressively at his hair, fingers probably bruising the skin of his scalp, yet she didn't care. She tried to move her head away from his roaming mouth and hands, trying desperately to get a reprieve from the pressure that continued to build like a fire catching on dry grass. Every time she moved to get away, his mouth found a new tender spot to explore, growls rumbling deep in his chest and escaping from his lips. The intensity hit its zenith, a high-pitched moan bursting from her as the crescendo of pleasure ripped her mind to fragments. Sesshomaru didn't stop, he continued to move inside her as she clenched around him, her body pressed to his sweat-soaked chest. When she almost couldn't stand the pleasure of his movements any longer, he threw his head back with a hiss that quickly morphed into an unintelligible gargle of gratification.  
Sesshomaru collapsed on top of Akari, holding her so close she could scarcely breathe around the mess of flesh and thick silver hair. What felt like an eternity passed before he rolled off of her, pulling his under shirt with him to cover his nakedness. He kept an arm under her head to pillow it from the uncomfortable stone floor. With all the blankets and his pelt, the makeshift bed was still incredibly dense and chilled.  
Neither of them spoke, Sesshomaru seemed to slip into a light snooze, the rhythmic sound of his breathing the only sound in the cave aside from the popping of the dying fire. Akari couldn't sleep with the tight knot in her chest, a strange emotion caught in her heart as she replayed the images over and over again. She didn't know what to think or how to feel. Was she angry? Was she elated? Why did she feel like laughing and crying all at once?  
'Because this is how it should have been.' The thought shot to the forefront of her spinning mind, bringing with it tears that fell unwelcome down her face. This moment with Sesshomaru should have been the first introduction to sex for her, not the painful and terrifying experience that was her first. He had been aware enough to make sure not to hurt her, but he hadn't treated her like fragile glass because he knew it would have made her upset. It had been a perfectly normal experience, gratifying and intense, but normal. He never treated her like a delicate little girl. His face sometimes betrayed his thoughts when his brow would knit together with worry or pity, but he still treated her as a strong, talented woman.  
Akari turned to look at his beautiful, resting face, beads of sweat still clinging to his hair line, lips slightly parted. Another earth-shattering thought slammed around in her brain; 'I love him.' At some point she was going to tell him, it was cruel to allow him to continue to believe she didn't return his feelings and only wanted him physically. She would tell him after everything settled down and then they could decide what to do next.  
Her mind was finally quieting enough for her to fall asleep, rolling over to tuck herself in the crook of Sesshomaru's arm when he shot up from the bed, knocking her away from him. His eyes were wide, his breathing stopped as he listened intently to the sounds of the cave. Akari glared at him but kept quiet as she, too, listened for whatever had woken him. At first she couldn't hear anything, the fire having died down to nothing but a smolder. Then, a faraway high-pitched sound, as if wind were passing over the rim of a glass cup. The sound confused her, but Sesshomaru was already jumping to his feet, dragging her with him.  
"What's going on? What's that sound?" Akari whispered, ignoring the twinge of pain between her legs.  
"Shut up," he whispered; voice thick with what sounded like fear. "Put this on." He pulled his kimono top off the ground and assisted her with getting her arms in and tide a sash around her. Next he pulled his armor off the ground and cinched in as tight as he could and buckled her in. as soon as she was snug in his armor, Sesshomaru slipped his pants and under robe on, tying it in place as best as he could.  
She was about to demand that he tell her what the hell was on going when the ceiling of the cave exploded, massive chunks of rock hurling through the air and smashing all around. Akari yelled as Sesshomaru pulled her down, hundreds of pounds of rubble and debris entombing them.


	9. PART 9 (No One to Protect) End of Arc 1

A soft groan sounded somewhere to Sesshomaru's left. He could barely move under the force of the rocks and sand piled on top of him, but he knew he needed to get to Akari. The blast that shattered the roof of the cave and threw hundreds of feet of earth on top of him wasn't just aimed at the cave, it was aimed specifically at her. He knew who had sent the attack, he had smelled it as soon as it was unleashed and had tried to protect her as best he could at the last second with his armor and personal kimono. Sesshomaru's kimono wasn't just expensive silk with his family crest emblazoned upon it. It was spun from the thread of the last known Steel Silk Spider, its threads just as strong as chain mail, if not stronger. He just hoped it had been enough.  
Once he had smelled the attack, the person it was coming from, and whom it was towards, all the questions he had been asking himself had been answered. How had the humans and Panther Demon Tribe known where the Meido Stone had been kept? Most people in the Inu Daiyokai clan are not aware of what it actually is, they just believe it to be clan heirloom, or something of that nature. How had the Panther Demon Tribe known the stone would be at the summit meeting, when their own clan had been told it was hidden away from the site? Someone was passing information, and Akari had said there was a third party waiting for the stone when he found her all those years ago in the cell. But now, he knew who it was, who had allowed his own clan to be attacked, allowed a member of his people he was sworn to protect to be abused and raped. Diasuke, brother-in-law of the clan leader, son of the great Moon Clan and general of the dog demon armies, had done this. Sesshomaru's own uncle, his most trusted friend and confidant, the man who taught him to use a sword and read a battle map. This man was now trying to kill him and his lover for the stone, which had unfortunately been bound to her soul. The only way for him to get it now was to kill her. She had been captured last time because of the seal she placed on the stone, they probably hadn't wanted to risk what might have happened if they had killed her, and so they had taken her along. This time, Diasuke wasn't playing it safe. He was going to obliterate her and take the stone anyway necessary.  
Another groan sounded and rubble shifted as someone tried to move. Sesshomaru pushed up from the ground, hissing in discomfort, his abrasions and damaged bones screaming in protest as he attempted to push the mounds of earth off the top of him. It took several attempts before enough pressure had shifted off of him for Sesshomaru to finally stand. Once he was upright and brushed the mud and dust from his eyes, he surveyed the surroundings, taking in the wreckage and destruction of the cave. The sun blazed overhead, a massive hole of still crumbling rocks was now in place of the roof.  
Sesshomaru scanned the ground till his eyes fell on a pile of rocks that was suspiciously shaped like a foot and swiftly made his way over, hoping the groans he had heard were from pain and not the sounds of air escaping a corpse. He quickly pulled off the heavier rocks, parts of trees, and pushed away dirt till he could see her form. He kept an ear out for movement outside the cavern for Diasuke, the blast that tore the ground apart had been his most powerful attack and was generally used for long range. It would be a few minutes before he made his way to their location.  
Sesshomaru finished digging his lover from the dirt and gently pulled her into his lap. His armor was relatively mutilated; deep cuts in the breast plate that revealed the Meido Stone tucked there, the plates were all but shattered, and the kimono was ripped on one shoulder. Her face had a deep gash on her left cheek bone that, despite being packed with sand, still managed to ooze crimson blood. Her breathing was rapid and shallow from the compression of the dirt and boulders, but she was alive, and relief flooded through him as he dug the sand out of her nostrils and eye creases.  
"Akari, can you hear me?" His voice was dry from his burning throat, which he ignored as he continued to clean her. Her eyes fluttered for a second before she pried them open, her gaze glassy and unable to focus. "Thank the gods."  
"My Lor-" Akari tried to speak and coughed, her body convulsing as her lungs tried to clear themselves. Her eyes danced around wildly as she tried to focus, and panic began to build as her muscles tightened in his arms.  
"Hold still," he demanded, catching her face in his hands and soothingly stroking her jaw. "What's wrong love? What do you need?"  
"Sesshomaru…I can't… I can't see." Her voice grew high pitched, edged with hysteria as her eyes blindly darted around. Sesshomaru's heart began to pound as he looked closer at her eyes, lightly using his thumb to pull one brow up, which in turn pulled the eye lid back. Instantly he hissed, both her pupils were blown and seemed covered in a milky film, the usually golden color of her eyes muted by the blindness. The sclera around both eyes were stained red by the damage of the dirt, and large debris and probably caused head trauma. "Please tell me it's just dark," she whispered when he didn't say anything, grabbing his sleeve to try and still the shaking of her hand.  
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was at a loss for words. She was completely blind in both eyes with an unknown internal head trauma that he couldn't fix. Even his mother, who was the best healer in the clan, couldn't fix that.  
"She looks to be in bad shape, nephew." Diasuke's voice came from above them, Sesshomaru froze along with Akari when they heard him speak. Neither had heard him approach or caught his scent in the air, just like the time in the forest and when the shrine had been attacked. How was this possible?  
"Aww, I love that confused look you get on your stony face. Trying to figure it out?" The older man jumped down to the uneven cave floor and splashed in a puddle. He glared at the muddy water that now sat on his boots and pants.  
Sesshomaru picked Akari up, no longer worried about moving her because no matter what, they may both die in the cave, and stepped away from his uncle. Neither of them were going to be able to fight him, and no one knew where they had gone, so back up was out of the question. Plus, his uncle was the general of the dog demon clan's army; most were more loyal to him then Toga. Was that what all this was about, getting control of the clan and using the stone to do it?  
"You're thinking about it, your mind going a million miles an hour to figure it out. Tell me little nephew, did you really never suspect me? Your lover did." He pointed to Akari, who clung to Sesshomaru, eyes blindly staring to the right of Diasuke. "She started following me around, trying to catch me doing something. She even told Toga, who I believe started to grow suspicious." He threw his head back, his laugh edged with hysteria and body shaking with excitement being so close to his goal. "Years, little nephew!" He shouted, throwing his arms out, and locked eyes with the younger man, one eye twitching slightly. "For years I followed your father blindly. I worshiped the ground he walked on and loved him. Then he met the little human girl and began to worry about the humans, saying how we needed to protect them, how it was our duty! Pah!" He spat.  
Sesshomaru moved as far back as he could, trying to put as much distance between them and Diasuke as possible, who was becoming more and more unstable as the conversation progressed. Akari's fingers tightened in his robe and hissed. "Do you feel that? He's getting ready to attack," she whispered, staring over Diasuke's shoulder. The air began to taste like electricity and the pressure thickened, like pounds of sand was falling over them once more.  
"I don't have the strength to stop it," he whispered back, nuzzling her ear slightly, never taking his eyes off his uncle.  
"Neither do I. Try to keep him talking. He'll get mad if I say anything, but he wants you to know why he did all this. It'll give us time and hopefully someone will come."  
Sesshomaru shook his head slightly. "No one's coming, can't you hear it? The battle started; everyone is already fighting. He attacked us now and here because we are completely alone."  
Her fingers twitched in his shirt and her breathing hitched in her throat as realization hit her. They were going to die.  
Before panic could take over completely, something itched at the back of Akari's brain. Wrongness filled a small part of the cavern, the static power of Diasuke was easy to pinpoint as it filled every inch of the basin except one small part behind him. There was an absence behind him that his power couldn't touch, there was also no smell or sound coming from that exact spot. If Akari's eyes were working, she knew there wouldn't be anyone or thing standing in that spot as well.  
That's how Diasuke had tracked them. He hadn't guessed were they were. Instead, he had had the assassin track them and it was standing behind him. The assassin was waiting for a moment to make its move, somehow causing the space around them to almost not exist.  
"Why the stone, Uncle?" Sesshomaru's voice was gruff, and his chest rumbled under her cheek. He was going to still try to get information from him, even though they both new they were going to die.  
"Growing up, I heard your mother speak many times about some legendary stone of power, unimaginable power. A few years ago, I heard about such a stone called the Shikon no Tama and went searching for it. Once I found it, I learned it was the heart of a priestess that slayed demons who had died a few decades prior, so obviously that couldn't be the stone I was searching for." He paced in front of the two, his feet scraping on the loose dirt and rock. Akari listened to his movement, preparing herself for the eventual unleashing of his power. "Then, your father took me to the shrine to see Mother Superior. He had just made me General, and wanted me to see why we protect the Medio Stone and the shrine. Like most people in the clan, I had assumed it was just some rock and protecting it was just some obscure custom." His voice was growing excited as he spoke faster. "Once I saw it, I knew that the Meido Stone was the stone of legend your mother used to speak of. The power that could summon an army of dead and open the gates of hell. I respected your father and left it alone, listening to his caution regarding the stone and how it must always stay hidden. But then, your father grew soft towards the humans, allowing them to encroach on our land, allowing other clans to live in our forest, all while our clan began to decline. We don't bear many children, yet he forced us to fight the wars of others that drastically depleted the clan. There are so few of us left! Finally, I couldn't watch the declined anymore, couldn't stand your father's fascination with the humans. So, I made my way to the palace of Lord Gyru in the guise of a mortal and made a deal with him. He hired the Panther Demon Tribe after I suggested it and told them where the shrine was, and told him to make sure everyone died." Akari heard his pacing stop directly in front of the strange void and heard a sigh. "But then, your little lover screwed all that up. She used that weird spell to bind the stone to her and the group that went to retrieve it panicked and brought her along, now it's bound to her, till death I assume." Mirth resounded in his voice. "I'm going to chance it I think, I'm going to kill her, and then kill you, dear nephew. And lastly, I'll kill your father and his new whore bride he left my sister for. With the stone, I will clear out the West and rule over it and the clan as your father failed to do."  
Sesshomarus' heart was pounding in his chest and his breath became shallow as Diasuke continued with his monologue and threatened every aspect of both their lives. The threat to his father and Akari, the betrayal of his most beloved Uncle was probably too much, and she felt horrible that his whole world was breaking, and there was nothing she could do for him.  
His heart rate continued to spike under her cheek and his breathing grew more rapid as a growl built up from his chest. He was transforming to his true form. Though she was blind, Akari knew what it would look like: first his eyes would turn crimson, next his teeth would grow as his mouth widened and his fingernails would lengthen into deadly claws. She could feel the claws now pricking her raw skin and most likely causing more bleeding, and there was nothing she could do to stop him; in his rage, the beast form would undoubtedly kill everyone, including her.  
The void/assassin behind Diasuke moved, running swiftly towards Akari and Sesshomaru at an alarming rate to even rival a Dog Demon. "SESSHOMARU!" She screamed as she realized what was about to happen. Before she could warn him she could both feel and hear it as a knife plunged into his back, effectively halting the transformation process. The sound of the blade as it hit bone and the jerk of his body when the blade was forced into him told her he was stabbed up into the ribs from his back. For a second no one moved, silence settling over the cavern thick and haunting as everyone present realized the death blow dealt to her lover. A light gurgling sound broke the silence and warm liquid splashed across her face. His lung was punctured and quickly filling with blood that would keep him from getting the much-needed oxygen all living creatures required to survive. "No," she whispered, as more liquid warmed her face and neck, soaking the borrowed kimono.  
Akari slammed to the ground when Sesshomaru's legs gave out, rock and hard dirt knocking the wind from her lungs. She could hear someone talking through the fuzz as she fought to breath. "She knew you were coming, how interesting."  
"Impossible, not even you can see through my barrier." A young feminine voice replied back.  
"That's true, and yet she knew what you were going to do. Even blind, she saw it," the general stated. "I'm sorry little nephew, it would have been more honorable for you to die by my hands instead of that of a cat, but I couldn't let you finish your transformation." His feet turned in the dirt, like he had turned his back on them. "Let's go Shunran, your king has begun the attack and I must make a show of fighting him back if I am to maintain the respect of my people." Akari and Sesshomaru had known there was a third Panther Demon with the Leopard Devas or whatever they called themselves, one that could generate a barrier to hide herself.  
He turned back to Akari, the sound of the attack that had been building for some time crackling and popping around him as he prepared his final move to kill her and take the stone.  
'This is it,' she thought as remorse and sorrow filled her. 'I'm really going to die this time. No one is coming.' Not that she really wanted anyone to come now. Sesshomaru was dead, he had no breath and no heartbeat. Diasuke had won as far as she was concerned. Toga was gone to his human whore and the Great Lady had left, there was no one left to stop him from taking over and, with the stone, he was going to rule the Western Lands.  
"We will make a deal with you." A song hummed in her head that somehow sounded like words spoke from a faraway place in many voices.  
A deal?  
"Yes, we will bring the pale one back and we will give you the strength to save the people you love," the voices sang again.  
At what price?  
"Does it matter? You will die, and the pale one will die, and everyone else will die." The voices hummed with eagerness and pleasure. They were right, she would pay any price, because the alternative meant everyone died.  
Fine, whatever you want I will pay it. As soon as she thought the words, the stone began to heat up, burning her shoulder where it laid askew from her awkward position on the ground, halfway on Sesshomaru's body. The hum rose in her head, drowning all other sounds out and effectively deafening her with its song till blood ran from her ears. With the song, energy wash over her body, numbing the pain of her previous injuries and renewing her with vigor. "We will make you see by making you listen." The song and voices spoke one final time then without warning, vanished, leaving behind hollow silence.  
Movement above her jerked her attention up as Diasuke's hand slammed down in yellow fiery lightening towards her. Her training took over and reflexes reacted as she caught his arm and forced the power into the ground beside her. Akari jumped to her feet, it was cumbersome to move with Sesshomaru's armor on, but she was thankful for the protection it had provided earlier. She stood over him, one leg on either side protectively as she prepaid for Diasuke's next attack.  
The general's hand was buried in the rock where she had forced the lightning discharge and was looking at her with a confused look on his face. They both noticed it at the same time, Akari could see.  
It was different than before, she knew her eyes were not working and were completely useless, but her ears were picking up the vibrations around her and building a picture in her mind. Even the sound of Diasuke's blood flowing in his veins added to the emotions on his face.  
Akari reached up and touched the blood that was still running from her ears. The stone said it would make her listen to make her see. She was seeing with sound, and that was enough for her to kill him and the cat bitch that had killed Sesshomaru.  
Sesshomaru. She glanced down at him where he lay on his side, a bone knife handle protruding from his ribs, blood blossoming around the entrance. With her weird vision, she could barely detect the faint sounds of a heart beat that slowly grew stronger with each passing second. His eyelids twitched and fluttered before opening enough for their eyes to meet, he was too weak to do much more than look at her.  
Diasuke pulled his arm from the ground and glared at her, malcontent apparent in his eyes and anger in the set of his mouth. "You just keep getting in my way. Why won't you fucking die?!" He screamed, while launching himself at her once more. Akari stood her ground, refusing to move from her protective stance over Sesshomaru, throwing both hands up to create a wall of fire to surrounded them both. Diasuke's lightning hit the flames with a sharp crack that resounded around the cave as fire and electricity smashed into every wall. The already fragile walls crumbled more, exposing more sunlight and kicking up dust, blinding everyone but Akari. A scream sounded from the void as a fly away blast of fire smashed the girl inside it. The magic died away, revealing a small girl with pointed ears and long brown hair that stank of cat. A satisfied smile filled Akari's face as she looked where the smoldering girl lay.  
Diasuke jumped back, his breath labored and sweat beading his skin as he continued to glare at the woman he so obviously despised. "The stone doesn't want you touching it. It will continue to feed unimaginable power to me, until you are stopped. I will come back again, and again, until you are dead. That's why I won't die." Her voice was surprisingly calm and resolute as she stared back at him. She could feel Sesshomaru's confusion from her words. Her next words were directed to him. "I want you to know something, Sesshomaru, before I go. I made a deal, with the power behind the stone. Maybe the stone itself, I don't know. But, no matter what happens, I regret nothing. Because it was worth it." Her voice steady, she glanced at him for only a moment, too scared to take her eyes off of her opponent for long. "I love you, Sesshomaru, and I wish I had realized it sooner. Thank you."  
She looked back at Diasuke, a blood thirsty smile finding its way to her lips as tears started to fall from her milky eyes, her emotions split but also focused on the task at hand. He returned her devious smile, as if to say, 'may the best demon win', and launched at her once more. When his lightning hit her wall of fire, the sounding boom nearly decimated what was left of the cave. It was so loud, every creature for miles around ran in terror away from the fight. With arms crossed over her head to block Diasuke, she looked up and met his eyes as the power given to her from the stone stormed in her veins. As he continued to pour every drop of power into the hit, she too had to pour her power into her defense, pulling more energy from the stone till it began to burn her skin. The surrounding wall of flame slowly turned the same azure color of the stone, her veins glowing blue as if her blood had been replaced by the stone and it's magic. Diasuke's rage turned to fear as she transformed before him, becoming a being of pure blue power that would destroy him and all his dreams, and her power encompassed him in a cocoon of blue fire.  
As the otherworldly magic became too much for her fragile flesh to handle, she let out a soul-piercing shriek, full of pain, anger, and determination as she poured the last little bit of energy into Diasuke. She felt his body soundlessly crumble to nothing under the onslaught of her attack, but the power didn't ease or vanish. It continued to spread and consume her, her muscles and veins growing thick and heavy like rock until it reached her heart.  
"Sleep. Sleep, and become more." The song echoed in her head one last time before nothingness overtook her.  
_________________________________________________________________

Toga was too late; he knew that as soon as he saw the massive sink hole that almost reached to the river. The smell of his son's and brother-in-law's blood had torn him from advancing on the battle and lead him to the place deep in the forest. His mate had sent him the warning of her brother's betrayal, how she had found out he didn't know, but he could see now he was too late. The devastation was awe-inspiring and would forever change the landscape of the forest. The water fall behind the hole was blown out and the river's course changed as it flooded a part of the hole and a large part of the forest.  
Toga dropped from the air straight for the cavernous, murky hole that smelled weakly of his son. The destruction became more intense the farther he fell, the walls scarred with fire and deep lacerations that river water flowed from. He hit the bottom with a thud and waited for his eyes to adjust to the low light, taking in the rubble and boulders at the bottom of the pit.  
"Father?" Toga's head snapped at the breathless sound of his child. Still slightly blind, he stumbled towards the pain filled voice of his heir, anxiety sparking in his muscles.  
"Sesshomaru!?" He dropped to his knees once he reached the form of his son, who laid on his side. A knife covered in his blood lay next to him. "Son, what happened?" He had a hard time getting to him as he was stuck under a large rock. Weary of a possible knife wound, Toga reached around his son and pulled him free and into his lap.  
"Father, where is Akari? You must find her." His voice was barely audible over the sound of running water over the rock walls. They were perched on a hill of rock and dirt, but the water level around the hill slowly rose as water trickled in.  
"We will find her son, be more concerned with yourself. Are you hurt?"  
"No, she healed me, I will be fine just find-" Sesshomaru's voice died out, his eyes focused on the rock he had been stuck under. Toga followed his gaze, a small strangled sound filling his voice as his eyes fell upon what he thought was a stone.  
It was stone, blue stone that radiated faint light shaped like a woman in a defensive pose. Akari's face was twisted in a silent scream, her face, body, and even armor frozen in rock in the color of the Medio Stone. "What the…" He trailed off, at a loss for words.  
"She made a deal with the stone or something to stop Diasuke and save me. This was the price."  
They sat in a reverent silence, watching the glowing statue of someone they both cared for. Toga bit back a sob and looked down at his son. "I'm sorry Sesshomaru, but she's not going anywhere, and we still have a battle to fight. The humans from the palace and Panther Tribe are decimating our men and our human neighbors' armies I requested may be too late. We must go rally them." His heart was heavy for the loss his son suffered, but he had an entire clan to care about. Toga stood up and inspected the statue more closely, taking in all the detail and shape of Akari. Shocked, he noticed the Meido stone still hung around her neck, the stone darker than normal, as if it had wasted all its energy. He touched the stone lightly, watching as its chain snapped and the stone fell to the ground. Curiously, he bent down and picked the stone up and looked at his son. They both knew what it meant that the stone had separated from her, she was dead.  
Sesshomaru stared absently at the woman he loved, who had sacrificed everything for them. A woman who had told him she loved him. "I'll go Father, but I have no one I want to protect anymore." His voice was without emotion and his face set in cold, unyielding stone, like that of the one that entombed hers.

THE END OF THE FIRST ARC


	10. PART 10 (From a Child to a Woman)

Sweat clung to the raven-haired beauty's body as she struggled to dislodge herself from the mass of sheets and clothes that she was too lazy to put away the day before. Her light blue robe clung tightly to her skin, revealing small round breasts, shapely thin hips, and creamy skin. All the boys in her village had taken an interest in her at a young age, which she ignored, and time had done nothing to lessen their interest. Even Kohaku, who had always been a friend to her, had started to frequent the village to visit her more and more often. Growing up, he had always treated her like a little sister and friend, and had never showed any interest in her, but now he had a look in his eye that was hungry and wanting. She didn't like it, the look he held for her now. There was only one man she wanted, and it wasn't him. Today was also Rin's eighteenth birthday. Today was the day she hoped to catch the eye of the one man she was genuinely interested in.  
"Ughhh," Rin moaned, looking at her soaked sleeping robe as she felt her greasy hair where it stuck to her face and back. For the last few nights, she had been experiencing strange dreams that woke her up feeling groggy and frightened, only she couldn't remember any part of the dreams. When she had spoken to old Kaede about the strange absent dreams, the old woman had shrugged it off. "You're becoming a woman with much on her mind, strange dreams are a side effect of adulthood." She would then kiss the young woman on the temple and go back to weeding the garden.  
This morning, though, had been different. She had remembered a part of her dream. She had heard a woman singing in the dark void. The humming had been sad and hauntingly beautiful, the song shook her to her core with its melancholy sound. She had heard the song before, long ago, though Rin wasn't sure when or how she had come to know it. Crawling out of her bed on swollen, heavy limbs, Rin changed to a clean sleeping robe and prepared to make her way to the well to get water for her hair.  
Still trying to shake the last of the dream off, Rin headed into the early morning air with a wash bucket, towel, and hard soap in hand. The light of morning was still some hours off, but the air was already warm with summer as it reached its full potential of bone drying heat. On the top of the hill behind Kaede's hut was the well Rin preferred in summer months, for the water was always several degrees colder than others.  
Rin hissed and clenched her teeth as she dumped the contents of the bucket over her head, and felt some of the water run down the back of her robe. Bent at the waist, she rubbed soap into her hair as water ran out of it onto the rough flagstone under her feet. Slowly, she worked the lather from the roots to the tips of her black hair while running her fingers though it to keep if from tangling too much.  
Wind blew over head, rustling the leaves of the trees and kicking up a storm of grass that stuck in Rin's wet and soapy hair. "MEH! What was that?" She yelled, pulling her hair back to look at the dark sky. A white blur flashed across the early morning hue and disappeared into the forest. She smiled and quickly dumped more water over her hair, ignoring the water that splashed over her clothes, and quickly ran off to the woods. She knew Sesshomaru wouldn't miss her birthday, and felt elation as she ran to go meet him. Rin would have preferred he wait till she was completely dressed and had her hair made up before coming to visit, but she was too excited to care about her still soapy hair and wet sleeping robe.  
Bursting through the foliage she ran full tilt, bare feet slapping the ground to the spot in the forest she had seen him land. She cleared the thicker trees, catching the sight of white hair through the leaves and before her excitement could kill her, Rin jumped over a root to the clearing and stopped dead in her tracks.  
It wasn't Sesshomaru waiting for her in the small clearing of trees. It was another demon, a female, with long white hair and a white fur pelt draped around her shoulders. It took a moment for Rin's brain to recognize the woman in front of her. She froze and watched the beautiful woman turn her golden eyes and pin Rin to the spot.  
"Your Milord's mother," Rin sputtered when her mouth finally started to work again. This woman was the last person she would have expected to show up at any point in time.  
The majestic demon smiled and held a pale hand out to Rin. "I guess we have never had a real introduction. Call me Inukimi, that's what most refer to me as." Her voice was lovely and flowed around the young woman like a gentle breeze. She reached out and took the offered hand and allowed the otherworldly woman to pull her closer.  
"It's nice to meet you," Rin replied breathlessly, staring into the forever young face of Sesshomaru's mother. "I'm Rin. If you're looking for Milord, he isn't here."  
"No, no, I came to see you." She ran a thin alabaster finger down Rin's cheek and jaw line, caressing her like a mother would a child, long red nails leaving goose flesh in their wake.  
"You came for me? Why?" She didn't intend to sound rude; she was confused as to what she could possibly do for such a powerful being.  
"You care for my son, do you not?" She smiled, as if recalling some private joke, tightening her arm around the smaller female while she continued to trace her face.  
Rin was so captivated by the demoness' eyes that she was having trouble thinking, feeling her body grow light and nerves swirling as she fell further into her stare. "I owe him everything, he took me in and even brought me back from death twice. I was mad when he left me here, but I understand that he did it for me," she finally stammered out.  
Inukimi grabbed her face in a strong grip, not hurting her but enough to ensure the girl couldn't break away. "I am going to send you on a dangerous journey, a journey that will be deadly for a human but one that only you can do." Her voice was below a whisper, her mouth only an inch from Rin's, her breath smelled sweet, like wine. "And because of your feelings for my son, I expect you to complete this mission fully, because you would never wish to hurt him."  
"What must I do?"  
Inukimi finally released her face and Rin stumbled back, blinking rapidly and shaking. She had heard of demons hypnotizing humans before, but had never seen it and had it done to her. It had been strange, as if the woman had searched her soul and mind to its deepest and darkest spaces, to where all her secrets where hidden. Rin wondered what she had found there.  
"Once, when you were a child, my son brought you to me. You had died, and the Tenseiga was unable to revive you." The woman began to walk around the clearing, keeping her eyes on the human. "I used a blue stone to bring you back, do you remember?"  
Rin only had faint memories of both her resurrections. The only clear memories were waking up and finding Sesshomaru's face. The more she thought about it, the colder her body felt, so she regularly avoided the thoughts of her own deaths. Rin did vaguely remember a warm stone being pulled from her body the last time she returned from death. Slowly she nodded as she tracked the demoness around the clearing.  
"A long time ago, a member of my clan sacrificed her life for our people and my son. This woman was the only ever known person to poses the Medio Stone and harness its power. This woman was also special to my son. It is time for her to come back, for we will need her once more."  
Rin just stared at her while digging her nails into her palms; confusion and jealousy thick on her face. "What?"  
"We thought her dead, but the stone seems to think otherwise. You, too, were brought back by the stone, and for a purpose. I believed that purpose was to awaken her." Inukimi stopped and grabbed Rin's hand, something heavy falling into her palm. Rin looked down to see a blue stone on a gold and pearl necklace in her hand. The stone was warm and seemed to vibrate against her skin, a happy humming sound filling up the clearing.  
"Seems I was right," Inukimi murmured as she listened to the song and noticed the rising sun over the trees, purple light spilling over the two. She glanced at the young human who stood in wonder, holding the singing stone. "You should leave as soon as possible; your journey will be a long one and not easy."  
"Where am I going? How do I find this woman?" Rin asked, looking up.  
"The stone will show you the way, just don't separate from it. But you should head west, to the lands of Sesshomaru's birth. I wouldn't advise you letting my son know about this journey, child." With that, Inukimi bent down and kissed Rin on the top of the head and took to the sky in a flash of dazzling white light, leaving the young woman holding the Medio Stone, all alone, on her birthday.  
This definitely wasn't the gift she expected today, to hunt down and revive someone she guessed had been very close to Sesshomaru. A woman whom had been close to the man that Rin loved. Rubbing the spot Inukimi kissed, she thought about what she was going to take and if she should tell anyone.


	11. PART 11 (It's My Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To)

Rin stared at the four "good" traveling sets she had slowly accrued over the years with a scrutinizing eye. Kaede had done a good job in letting the hems out of the hand-me-down pants and tunic tops over the years, and luckily Rin wasn't tall and hadn't grown much since she turned sixteen in both height and chest. Soon she would need new sets of clothes or else she would be forced to wear rags, which wasn't acceptable, she couldn't have Sesshomaru seeing her as a peasant, and a lowly human on top of that.  
Her hand landed on a waterproof leather bag that she kept hidden under the floorboards of her shoe box room. A small smile touched her lovely lips as she lifted the flap to see the silk kimono nestled inside, the only gift she had received from him. He must have felt guilty for leaving her among the humans and found something to lessen that feeling. Unfortunately, the kimono no longer fit her. Sighing, she replaced the flap and stared out the window at the morning light. The journey was going to be a long one and she could only take what she needed to survive, so the kimono and little keepsakes she had collected would need to stay behind.  
She began to pack her spare bag with the traveling clothes, one sleeping robe, a bed roll and a bone knife Kohaku had made for her the year before. She looked at the blue stone sitting on the bed, lightly humming and vibrating in its place. Was it going to do that through the whole trek? That would get annoying relatively quick. Should she wear the stone, or keep it in her bag? Chewing on her lip, feeling the anxiety of the journey looming over her, Rin delicately picked up the stone and slipped it over her head, allowing it to settle on her chest. As soon as the stone hit her bare skin, the humming and vibrating stopped, the happy song dying out in an instant.  
"Rude," she muttered, glaring at the object. At least it wouldn't annoy her across the damn continent! Rin stopped her glaring, why was she so angry? Normally, she was happy and carefree, ready to give anyone a smile at any time. But since the visit of the Great Lady, she felt raw and irritated, about ready to snap should anyone even look at her in a way she didn't like.  
"This woman was also special to my son." Her words bounced around in Rin's head, the implication of its meaning obvious. Whoever the woman was, she had meant something to Sesshomaru, which told Rin she was probably beautiful. And the fact that she was the master of this powerful stone also meant she had been strong. This woman was everything that Rin couldn't be for Sesshomaru; strong, beautiful, and most important of all, a demon like him.  
A knock on the door dragged Rin from her gloomy thoughts and back to reality. Right, today was her birthday and that meant old Kaede would be making Rin a special breakfast and give her a gift, as she had every year since Rin had come to live with her.  
"Come in!" She forced a smile in her voice and threw the half-packed bag in the corner to hide it, she didn't want to upset her adopted grandma on what was supposed to be a happy day.  
Kaede opened the door and instantly frowned, immediately sensing the dark arura around Rin's sour mood. "What's wrong, child?" She asked worriedly.  
Rin opened her mouth and snapped it shut. What did she say? She couldn't lie to her but also wasn't sure yet if she should reveal her mission to anyone. "I- I'm just upset that I don't have anything nice to wear for today is all." It wasn't a lie but…yeah it was a lie and Rin felt horrible, her mood darkening even more.  
The old woman stared back at her; mouth set with disappointment at seeing through the flimsy lie. "Well, come out and open your gift, it might make you feel better." She turned and left the room, shaking her head and muttering to herself.  
Rin left out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It hurt to lie to Kaede, someone who had always treated her so well and the only family she had now. "Damn," she whispered to the stone, water building up behind her eyes as the realization of what she was about to do hit her. She was about to leave her home, leave the kind lady who had raised her, and all her family and friends, like Kohaku and Kagome, without saying a word. She was probably going to be gone for months and they would fret about her, how were they going to take it?  
She slumped onto her bed, throwing her face in her hands. She sat for a moment to let all the emotions fill her up and overcome her till she was sobbing uncontrollably. A few minutes later she was emerging from her room, face dry and eyes red, ready to act like the adult she was supposed to be. Kaede stat on a bamboo mat in front of a large cooking pot in the middle of the main room of the hut, stirring its contents. Rin could smell the mushroom soup and freshly baked bread tinting the air, she had made Rin's favorite meal for her birthday. Feeling like a spoiled, selfish brat, Rin sat next to the old woman and leaned her head on her shoulder.  
"I'm sorry," Rin whispered, not trusting herself to say more or else she might start blubbering again.  
"Hush child, think nothing of it." She pattered the younger girl on the head and smiled. "Emotions sometime get away from us is all." Kaede reached over and picked up a wrapped pack tied with twine and placed it in Rin's lap. "Happy birthday, dear."  
Rin looked at the present in her lap and had to blink back more tears that threatened to overtake her. "Thank you." A sob broke her voice and she sniffed.  
Kaede frowned and placed a hand on Rin's back, rubbing large circles into her muscles. "You don't have to tell me what ails you child, but I do worry about you. Is it….is it your red flowers dear? Did it finally come to you?"  
"Kaede!" Rin shrieked, her tears drying up in and instant. "No! That happened a long time ago! I just didn't tell you." She glared at the old woman with a look of horror and shock at such a personal question. Kaede grinned at her and began to laugh, slapping her knee, and leaned so far back she almost fell.  
"Ah, there we go, something other than tears." She continued to laugh in a loud, uncontrolled manner till Rin found herself smiling and then giggling.  
Rin smacked Kaede on the back lightly. "You evil old witch!"  
"I just wanted a smile from you is all. Besides I knew, Kagome told me the day you went running off to hide at her house screaming about dying."  
"She told you!?" Rin screeched, even louder the before.  
"Of course, child. Why do you think once a month your supplies are stocked up hmm? The cotton fairy? Now stop looking so offended and open my gift. The anticipation is killing me."  
Rin sat next to the woman once more, murmuring about betrayal and invasion of privacy. Without ceremony she tore into the package, which felt suspiciously like cloth. Rin blinked at the bright red cloth and white starched clothes that lay in her lap. "This is…" She couldn't finish the sentence as the implications of the clothing in her lap settled over her.  
"Both Kagome and I have felt the spiritual power in you. It wasn't much at first, so we said nothing. These past few months we have both felt it growing drastically. We want you to start miko training with us." Rin couldn't speak as she held up the red bottoms of a shrine maiden's training grown, the same both Kaede and Kagome wore.  
"I'm too old to start training, don't you have to start as a child?"  
"Kagome was fifteen before she found out about her spiritual powers, and didn't start officially training till her early twenties." Kaede replied, smoothing out the clothes that still half lay in the brown package. "Look at her, a late bloomer, but powerful nonetheless." Kaede's face was filled with pride as she thought of how far Kagome had come. She waited for Rin to say something, since she still hadn't spoken.  
"Do you not like it, child?" She asked softly, touching Rin on the shoulder. Rin jumped, shocked by the touch.  
"Yes, I like it…It's just not anything I ever expected is all. Can I have some time to think about it?"  
"Of course! Take all the time you need. Now eat your breakfast, I'm going to the pantry." Kaede stood with a groan as her joints popped and shuffled to a small pantry attached to the house.  
As soon as Kaeda was out of sight, Rin booked it to her room and shut the door. Her breath was coming out in gulps as panic set in. A priestess! Were they insane!? She looked at the half-packed bag and snatched it off the floor, shoving the uniform inside without thinking.  
"Nope. Nope. Nope," she whispered to herself over and over again until her mind went into auto pilot as she finished packing.  
Without further delay, Rin threw the bag out the window and jumped out after it. The panic consumed her as she ran for the trees, the sun to her back, and ran west towards her mission and away from the two priestesses who had shaped her life.


	12. PART 12 (Monster or Maiden?)

"She did what!?" Kagome's angry yell echoed around the village, causing people to peek their heads out of their windows and doors at the commotion. The village was used to Kagome's wrath, she was married to Inuyasha for heaven's sake, and the poor sap she was usually yelling at. Instead, they found the woman standing in front of the elderly Kaede, fuming and shaking.  
"I gave the child the robe this morning. I thought she just needed some time to adjust to the idea of being a priestess. Instead, I found her room abandoned and empty. She must have run away." The older woman's voice was thick with anxiety and fear at the disappearance of her ward.  
"I can't believe her! What kind of dumb, stupid… ARROGANT-. " She stopped herself. It wasn't fair of her to talk about Rin like that. Rin was probably scared at the idea of being a priestess and spending the rest of her life protecting the village from stray demons that would do them harm. It was a huge responsibility, and one that took Kagome years to come to terms with. If it hadn't been for her friends and Inuyasha, then she may have stayed in her time and just said 'screw it'. But she had a man she loved and villagers she admired to keep her there. Rin had friends, but the man they all knew she loved was elsewhere. Her closest true friend was in the demon hunter's village that was days away. There was nothing other than her connection to Kagome and Kaede. It was natural for children to leave their mothers, or mother like figures to explore the world… but to just take off without a word?  
"Where's my husband?" She finally yelled, stomping off towards to outskirts of town.  
"What are you going to do?" Kaede asked, trying to keep up with Kagome's long, irritated stride.  
"I'm going to go get her and talk some sense into her. I mean really, leaving you here worried and running off."  
Kaede hid a small smile behind a sleeve. "I think you are the one more hurt by her absence."  
Kagome flashed the smaller woman a venomous glare.  
"She traveled with and has been around dog demons her whole life. She knows how to hide her trail and scent from Inuyasha, should she not want to be found," Kaede chided, huffing from the strain of keeping up. She wasn't as young as she used to be.  
"Pff, I'm not using him for his nose. I need a ride. I'm sure she ran off to Sango's or Kohaku's to pout." Kagome finally stop and faced Kaede. "There was a demon in the forest this morning, a dog demon that Inuyasha didn't recognize. I'm more worried about that than her running off. I'm going after her to make sure she's alright." Kagome looked up, thinking about all her powerful friends she had over the years to watch her back. If it hadn't been for them, Kagome was sure she would have died her first week in the Feudal Era. Rin was smart and a budding priestess with superior spiritual power, but she was no match for a demon or human that wanted her dead. Or worse.  
"Well, be off with you then. But be kind to young Rin, she had a dark aura about her this morning and I fear she may be dealing with more than she lets on." Kaeda hugged Kagome, barley reaching her stomach. With a final squeeze, she released the younger woman and watched her walk off, hoping that the impending doom looming about the situation was nothing more than nerves.  
Inuyasha landed in the center of the small demon hunters' village, kicking up dust and dirt to announce his arrival. Several people turned to look at the demon, tensing and grabbing the hands of their children. The few people who had moved to the village to start training with Sango were mostly refugees from destroyed villages, villages destroyed by demons. Though the people knew Inuyasha to be the demon slayers friend and ally, they still didn't trust him, and wouldn't relax till he left. Kagome slid from her husband's back and gave everyone a 100 watt smile to defuse Inuyasha's harsh glower of the people. "You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar, Inuyasha," she chided from the corner of her strained smile.  
"That's stupid, why would anyone use vinegar to catch anything? Your sayings make no sense," he replied, stalking towards the home Sango had rebuilt for her and her brother. Kagome rolled her eyes and followed her oh-so-loving husband, waving at the people who jumped out of the half demon's way.  
"Sango!" He hollered, pounding on the front door. They waited a moment before pounding on the door two more times. Before he pounded on the door for a fourth time, the door flew open and a disheveled and tired Sango opened the door, glaring at her friends.  
"Two hours, Inuyasha, two hours to get him to sleep and here you are, causing a ruckus. What do you want?" She whispered, irritation dripping from her words.  
Inuyasha back peddled and hid behind his wife at the demon slayer's appearance. "She's been possessed, get her."  
"Stop acting like a child and grow up already," Kagome sighed and turned back to her friend. "I'm sorry, did we wake him?" Sango's son Mushin was a little less than a year old and a fussy, fat baby. After the disappearance of Miroku last year, Sango had been raising the child alone with the help of Kohaku, when he wasn't away on missions. They had spent weeks searching for the monk, who had disappeared while answering the call of a village in need from a haunting. Sango had plunged into depression, then anger when someone told her he had probably run off with another woman (that someone being Inuyasha) and then another depression when she realized that, despite his faults, he would never leave his unborn child. Sango had put her demon slaying days behind her for now to stay with the baby and train the people flooding into the village in hopes of acquiring the art of slaying.  
"No, I'm sorry. He just hasn't been sleeping well and Kohaku is away so I haven't had much help." She stepped aside and allowed the two to enter her home, glaring at Inuyasha as he walked past.  
"You know, if you ever need help you just have to ask, Sango. I would love to watch little Mushin so you can take a nap or…a bath." Kagome joked, sitting down on the floor.  
"Thank you, but I want to spend all the time I can with him while I have the chance. I remember my father always leaving for work and how it made us feel. I don't want to put him through that if I can help it." She pulled a kettle from the fire and began to make tea for everyone. "What brings you guys here? It doesn't feel like a friendly visit."  
"Rin ran away from home this morning, I figured she's headed here. We couldn't pick up her trail along the way, so we figured we would wait here for her to show up," Kagome explained, taking the tea and blowing on it. Inuyasha just eyed his cup and crinkled his nose, not touching the warm drink.  
"Ran away? Why would she run away? She knows how dangerous life is outside the villages. Why do you think she would come here?"  
"Well, I figured the only friend she has is Kohaku, so if she were to hide out anywhere this would be the place." She took a long drink. "As to the why, Kaede gave her the garb this morning and told her how we wanted her to start training."  
"So, you think she got overwhelmed and took off? That doesn't make sense. What's really going on? If you guys just thought she came here for some alone time you wouldn't be chasing her, you know we would protect her and take care of her. Why are you really going after her?"  
"There was a demon in the forest outside the village this morning, an unknown powerful dog demon. I thought the only one left was Sesshomaru, but this one was distinctly feminine and almost…familiar. Rin's scent was all over the area as well. It's not a coincidence that a dog demon showed up this morning, and hours later Rin ran off." Inuyasha stated darkly, still glaring at his cup.  
"Well, that's unnerving," Sango stated, gripping her kimono in her fists.  
"Something is going on, and she somehow ended up in the middle of it," Kagome said, finishing off her tea. At that moment, a cry rang from one of the back rooms. Sango sighed and stood to fetch the child when Kagome motioned for her to stay seated. "I'll get him, we need some auntie bonding time anyway. And if we're going to take up residence here for a few days we might as well be useful." She shot a look to Inuyasha, telling him to do something, and walked to the room with the mewling child.  
"What are you thinking?" Sango asked, taking his untouched tea and setting it aside.  
Inuyasha gritted his teeth and looked at her. "There was something else in the clearing where I smelled the demon and Rin, something that doesn't make sense."  
"What do you mean?"  
"It was like a lingering note from a song, a sad song that was otherworldly, only I didn't…hear it. I felt it." Sango's brows furrowed as she looked at the half demon. "I felt it before, and the smell of the woman was familiar, only I can't place it."  
"An otherworldly song, huh? That is baffling, and worrisome."  
He looked at her quizzically. She looked out the window behind him, as if lost in thought. "Things not from this world tend to be dangerous. It reminds me of a story my father once told me, about a woman frozen in blue glass." She shook her head and met his eyes. "I'm sure it's nothing. Rin will be fine, in a few days she'll show up here and we will all feel better."  
"Why would this remind you of a story about a glass woman?" he asked.  
"Well, before I was born and my father was still in training, he and my grandmother were tracking a dangerous demon that kept attacking villages with spiritual people and stealing their souls. The demon tried to escape to the protected western lands, thinking they wouldn't follow it into heavy demon territory. They crossed the line anyway into the ancient forest that separated the human and demon lands. They went deeper than any human has in hundreds of years." Her voice took on a soft tone as she recounted the story.  
"The Forest of Plight." Inuyasha answered.  
"You know of it?" She asked, surprised.  
"Of course I do, it's the forest that surrounded my father's land before the Dog Demon Clan's demise. I grew up on the outskirts of that forest. When my mother's father found out she carried the child of a demon and could no longer hide it, he banished her to a small human village. That village no longer exists, but I spent years exploring that place. It made me feel…closer to my father." Realizing how much of himself he had revealed, Inuyasha turned his head, refusing to meet Sango's gaze to hide his blush.  
She smiled and continued her story, pretending she hadn't seen his red face. "I see. Anyway, they tracked that monster into the heart of the forest, but it had vanished into a huge sink hole they found. My father and a few of the younger people went down into the hole to find much of it flooded from the over flow of the river nearby. They never found the demon, but instead found a woman encased in blue glass. My father said she was the most beautiful angel he had ever seen. She was so beautiful, how could she not be a spiritual being? But, the thing that reminded me of your story was this: he said the statue sang, and the song haunted him for the rest of his life with its sad sound, a song he couldn't hear but instead could feel."  
"That's quite the coincidence," Inuyasha said slowly as he thought about the song.  
Sango shot him a hard look. "After all that time hunting Naraku and the sacred jewel, you're seriously telling me you still believe in coincidences?"  
"Whatever, it was just a stupid story. Statues don't sing and you're stupid for believing in that stupid bedtime tale." He stood and stomped from the house to find something to do before Kagome yelled at him again.


	13. PART 13 (Demons, Slayers, Bears- Oh My)

Rin ran for what felt like hours, cutting across the forest to the rolling hills outside the village, and didn't slow down till the terrain became dangerously rocky before realizing she was going in the wrong direction.  
"Damn it!" she yelled, looking at the setting sun. The sun that set in the west… behind her. She threw herself on the ground and attempted to catch her breath. She hadn't thought anything through, how to get where she was going, where she was going to find food or sleep. She had skills acquired through traveling with Sesshomaru, but she had always had Jaken and Ah Un to help her. Now, she was alone, and the last time she had traveled alone she had literally died. With an annoyed huff, Rin pulled a neutral colored set of cloths and breast band out. Quickly, she tied her breasts down and blindly pulled her hair into a topknot. Hoping the baggy pants would hid the obviously feminine shape of her hips, Rin pulled her pack on and headed north to a small stream that ran into a larger river. If she followed the river in the opposite direction it flowed, then river would take her west, and hopefully she would be able to figure out where to go from there.  
It was nearly midnight before she found the river and allowed herself to stop. Exhausted and sore, Rin pulled out a bed roll and tucked it under a downed tree, then went to the bank of the river to fill her water skin. She drank till her stomach began to ache, then sat back on the heels of her feet and watched the river slide past. A dangerous hope began to bloom in her chest as she watched the water run from the west. Sesshomaru had returned to the western lands that his father had once protected, assumingly to restore his clan, or to take up the mantle his father had left to him. If she continued into his lands, then maybe she would get to see him again, something she had been wanting with every ounce of her being. The longer she spent away from him, the more she wanted him. She wanted to show him that she had become a woman worthy of him, despite the fact she was human. Rin had trained with Kohaku and Sango and could protect herself in some aspects. Kagome and Kaede had taught her herbs and healing for both humans and demons. Even Shippo, when he came around, taught her how to lay and diffuse traps. She had something to offer, didn't she?  
Shaking her head, Rin stood and found her way back to her makeshift shelter and pulled out a wooden box with small holes drilled into it. Inside lay a foul flower that hid her sent completely, and she set it beside her to deter bugs and other things that went bump in the night. It took about a half hour before restless sleep overcame her.  
It only felt like she had slept for a few minutes when a new sound other than the river woke her. Rin's eyes flew open and she held her breath, straining her ears to find what had disturbed her. The sky was still thick with night, but a small pink tint on the horizon suggested morning wasn't too far off.  
"You're good. It wasn't easy finding you." A deep masculine voice came from above, making her heart pound in her chest. Someone was on top of the felled tree she slept beneath. It took her sleep deprived brain to place the voice.  
"Ko-Kohaku?" Her voice cracked, meaning she had been asleep with her mouth open, probably snoring, and he had probably heard it. Embarrassed, Rin climbed out from under the log and looked up. A couple of feet above her, Kohaku sat, legs hanging down as he causally chewied on jerked meat. "What…how…where did you come from?" she finally managed to choke out.  
Kohaku didn't look the same as when Rin had first met him. His hair was much longer now, down to his waist, and tied with a leather cord. A small patch of hair adorned his chin, and his skin was a dark honey from all the time he spent out in the sun. Girls in her village always smiled and blushed whenever he walked by and would talk in hushed tones about how handsome he was. Rin didn't see it, he was just Kohaku, the boy who tried to kill her once and was now her close friend. He had changed a lot over the years, becoming quieter and more reserved, with his dark gray eyes taking in every small detail. You never saw him outside his slayer's uniform anymore, he lived to slay the left-over demons from Naraku that ravaged the county side.  
He finished the jerked meat and wiped his hands on a small blue handkerchief that hung from his waist, ignoring Rin as her face changed from surprise to irritation. "I've had a long week; hunted a nasty moth demon from the continent, helped a family relocate a family of badger demons from their fields and broke my favorite mask when a highway man smashed his cheap sword on my face." He stated conversationally while meticulously cleaning his nails. Rin could see the deep blue bruise across his cheek and lip as he spoke, wincing slightly with every other word. "All I wanted to do was come home and take a bath and have a hot meal. You know what I found when I got home early this afternoon? No? I found Inuyasha and Kagome in my house, interrupting what was supposed to be a quiet day because a certain little girl had run away from home." He finally met her eyes, hard and angry as they bore into her.  
Rin flinched back from his stare and looked at her feet. She hated when he referred to her as a 'little girl', as he did when he was beyond angry.  
"So, I turned around and started tracking you the old fashion way, since a demon like Inuyasha wasn't able to track you by scent. You sure made it difficult with all the back tracking and running all over the valley." Kohaku stood up on the fallen log and jumped down beside her on silent, cat-like feet. She looked up into his angry face. He towered over her, which just added to the sting of him calling her a little girl.  
"You came to bring me back?" she whispered, unable to look away from his intense stare.  
"Unless you give me a reason not to," he murmured back quietly.  
"I did run away, but I also didn't. I'm on a mission, and I should have said something, but I just felt so overwhelmed."  
"You're on a mission? For whom and to do what?" His hand twitched at his side, as if he were trying to keep himself from touching her.  
"I can't tell you." Her voice was so light, she almost couldn't even hear herself. She so badly wanted to tell him, but the warning from the Great Lady ran through her mind.  
Kohaku was quiet for a moment before his face turned hard. "It's because of him, isn't it?" He spat the words out, as if they tasted sour. "It would only be for him that you would run away and worry your family, for the fucking demon."  
"They are not my family!" Rin screamed, finally breaking away from his gaze and turning her back on him. She instantly felt bad for saying it, but she hated how he talked about Sesshomaru, the disgust that twisted his handsome face.  
"Right, he's your family. We were just a consolation prize when he abandoned you." Rin's gut turned to ice and shivers ran up her arms.  
"He didn't abandon me."  
Kohaku laughed and sneered, "When was the last time he actually came by to check on you?" It had been three years, but she felt sure he would come on her eighteenth birthday, knowing how important it was. He was a demon and lost track of time, so he could have just forgot. "I can feel your mind running through the excuses you come up with for him. When are you going to realize that you don't mean the same to him as he does you?" He reached his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.  
"I'm not entirely sure what this mission is for, but I think I'm resurrecting his dead girlfriend," Rin finally said after a long, painful pause. She squeezed her eyes shut to force the tears back. She turned in his arms and looked up. "No matter how much it hurts, I have to do this. He did more for me than I could ever repay, and no matter how much you hate demons, I need you to be ok with that." Rin cared greatly what Kohaku thought of her. Their friendship ran deep, and he was the brother she never had.  
He was quiet, processing her emotions and needs till he finally signed. "Ok, where are we going?"  
"Wait? What?"  
"If this is as important as you say, then I'm coming with you," he replied to her stuttering in a firm voice, indicating nothing she said would change his mind.  
"We are going to the one place a human should never go. The demon-infested and protected Western lands."  
He arched and eye brow. "Of course we are, what better way to die?" He sighed and hugged her close, almost pushing all the air from her lungs. And, not for the first time, Rin was confused by her friend and his actions.  
The next morning, Rin got up, feeling the weight of the little sleep she had managed to get. She washed her face and prepared for the long walk ahead. She was glad Kohaku would be accompanying her, having someone to watch her back and share the burden that was beginning to drag her down was a good feeling. After a light breakfast of bread and meat, they made their way along the river and talked about her mission.  
"Start from the beginning and explain this to me," Kohaku said. He looked more exhausted then she did, with dark bags under his eyes that made the nasty bruise stand out even more.  
"Believe it or not, I have died twice. The second time I died, Milord couldn't bring me back, so his mother did. She used a strange blue stone that has some connection to hell or whatever, and brought me back. I thought that was the end of that. She showed up yesterday and gave me the stone, saying the reason it brought me back was to complete the task of bringing back some important demon." Rin looked at the stone that peeked out of the top of her shirt. It sat on her chest and vibrated, as if it knew when someone mentioned it.  
"Ok, and who is this demon, and when is it ever a good idea to bring one back?" Kohaku murmured, adjusting the strap of his pack.  
"She didn't say, other than she was important to the Dog Demon Clan and Sesshomaru, and apparently the only known person to master this stone. I don't know what any of that means or why the stone chose me to bring her back…. wake her? Ugh!" Rin rubbed her head in frustration, she should have asked more questions instead of being star struck by the beautiful woman.  
"You traveled with him for a long time, you probably know more than you think," he supplied, watching the tree line for any movement.  
Rin thought about all the time she had spent with the enigma that was Sesshomaru. He was quiet and thoughtful, sometimes lost in his own world. But he could also be harsh and quick to anger when questioned, so she tended to ask very little about his personal life. "Jaken!" she shouted, shocking her companion.  
"What about him?" he asked slowly.  
"Sesshomaru never talked about anything, but Jaken was incapable of shutting his mouth. Maybe he knows something, we should go ask," she said, smiling happily at her brilliance.  
"Doesn't he travel with the demon?"  
"Pff, shows how much you know. He got into trouble a couple of years ago, and Milord banished him to watch over Naraku's tomb." On the spot Naraku finally fell, the spot of the final battle, the land had died and left an eerie dead zone for a mile in all directions. People believed that the spot was cursed and he would someday rise again, like he had done so many times before. When Jaken angered Sesshomaru, he had been banished to the cursed place to stand watch for Naraku, or any of his remaining demons.  
"That's a little bit out of our way, are you sure he will know something?"  
"He knows everything about Milord, and has been with him forever. And even if he's in trouble, he'll still want to brag about serving the 'Mighty Dog Lord'." It would also be nice to see him again, but she kept that to herself.


	14. PART 14 (Into The Void)

"I wish I had realized it sooner…"  
"…Want you to know something."  
"I made a deal."  
"It was worth it."  
Snippets of words rushed from the void around Rin. The voice was sad and impregnated with a soft, humming song that danced along her nerves. Rin knew she should feel unsettled by the darkness before her, but instead felt comforted by it, and the voice and the song that accompanied it. The random words continued to flow before her and curiosity eventually got the better of her, prompting her forward in the void to find the source of both words and song.  
For hours, she walked in the total darkness, not even being able to see her hand before her face or her feet upon whatever surface she walked. The song grew more urgent and the voice grew louder and louder 'til Rin was forced to cover her ears, yet still she continued forward, needing to know who was in the darkness. When the voice became so loud that Rin thought her eardrums would burst, bright blue fire and lightning erupted before her, shocking a soundless scream from her.  
The fire was intense and the electricity of the lightning singed her skin and hair. The blue fire shaped a figure. A faceless woman, wearing an ancient kimono with a flower pattern on the sleeve and armor, fought against a shapeless foe of black smoke. The blue fire was coming from the woman while lightning seemed to be coming from the smoke, the two clashing repeatedly, unaware of Rin as she watched in total silence, unable to comprehend the battle before her.  
The voice and song continued at high decimals, slowly merging into one. When the sound was too loud for Rin to withstand any longer, she yelled at the two fighting figures to stop. The woman continued to fight, completely unaware of the girl screaming, but the dark smoke creature reared its massive head, dark red eyes fixing on her.  
"What are you doing here?" The question was not so much to her as it was to itself. Its eyes narrowed, as the creature seemed to drink in her figure, then stopped at a point just below her throat. A blue stone sat at her chest, vibrating as the beast looked at them. Confusion bounced around Rin's addled brain. She could not remember where this stone came from or why she was wandering around in the dark. How had she got here? Who were the two strangers here with her?  
"You shouldn't be here, tiny female," the dark creature mused, snapping her attention back to its crimson eyes, just as hysteria began to bubble in her chest. With a flick of its massive…paw? Or was it a hand? The creature pushed Rin down through the floor and away from the battle. The woman, unaware of what went on around her, continued to attack the monster with blue fire so hot that the falling Rin could feel its heat burning her skin. She continued to fall and the air round her continued to grow hotter 'til her flesh was burning, and the voice and song followed her in her descent on the heels of the heat.  
"I love you…" One final, desolate whisper from the woman.  
"RIN!" Her eyes flew open, sweat cascading down her back and soaking her clothes.  
"Wha-what?" Rin stuttered as her brain woke up, and recognized the face of Kohaku as he shook her awake.  
"We have to go; your screaming has woken up every manner of beast in this forest."  
"Screaming?" Her mouth was dry, and her skin felt swollen as she immediately started packing up their makeshift campsite, running completely on impulse.  
"Must have been one hell of a nightmare," he murmured, pulling his sleeping roll off the ground while watching the trees. Something big was moving in the forest, snapping limbs on the ground and upsetting leaves. "Hurry. We need to move, now."  
Stumbling, Rin grabbed her pack and followed Kohaku, still trying to shake the feeling of fire off her flesh. They moved quickly and quietly, heading towards the place Naraku died, her companion keeping a wary eye on the tree line.  
After a mile or so Kohaku slowed his back breaking pace and allowed her to collect herself.  
"What was your dream about?" he asked, as the suns first rays broke of the forest top. He handed her a water skin, the last of their water since leaving the riverbanks.  
She shook her head. "It wasn't a dream, or it didn't feel like one. I could feel fire burning me and sucking the oxygen out of my body. There was a huge monster, only it didn't have a form, it was like smoke constantly shifting in a set shape..." She trailed off as the words from the woman resonated within her. "I have been there before, in the void between worlds."  
"The void between worlds?" Kohaku asked, skepticism in his voice.  
"I didn't recognize it till I saw the stone." Her hand found the stone, touching the cool surface. "I was there the last time I died." Finally noticing the offered water skin, Rin quickly grabbed it and sucked down as much water as she could.  
He didn't say anything, just watched her with an unreadable expression on his tan face. "Might as well keep going, we will find the stupid toad by noon."  
Instantly irritated by his sudden change of topic, almost as if he thought she was crazy and was dismissing her experience as nothing but a fever dream, Rin narrowed her eyes at him. Throwing his water skin back at him, she pulled her pack back on and walked away.  
Her anger didn't subside any by the time they reached a dead patch of land that stretched for a mile in all directions. The area was void of all life; no small animals or even weeds grew in the desolate wasteland. This was where Naraku had died. Technically, he died in a dimension outside of this world, but this was where everyone appeared once the battle was finished. Once his remains and dead flesh touched the land, everything died in an instant. Many demons came to this area over the years, trying to absorb the residual evil left by Naraku. Even the jewel couldn't cleanse all of it. After Lord Sesshomaru banished Jaken to guard the area, the demons had been more wary of hanging around.  
A tiny hut with a woodpile against one wall and a well sat on the edge of the clearing, a happily popping cooking fire out front. Kohaku had continued to watch the tree line all the way to Jaken's house, looking for the beast that had followed from their campsite. Rin promptly ignored him and headed for the small hut, excitement building with each step at the chance of seeing an old friend.  
"Halt! Who dares trespass on my land?!" A grating voice shouted from inside the house. A window covering could be seen shifting, Jaken most likely trying to watch from inside. Rin said nothing and quietly hid on the side of the house, leaving her companion standing with a dumfounded look on his face.  
When no one answered Jakens call, he opened the door slightly and poked his head out, eyes falling on the demon slayer. "You!" he squeaked, stepping out. "You are in the wrong place kid; the village is on the other side of the hill."  
The statement confused Kohaku, but before he would question the creature more, Rin jumped behind Jaken and grabbed him in a bear hug.  
"Help demon slayer! I'm being attacked!" Jaken screamed, thrashing around in Rin's arms like a fish trying to break free. Once Rin began to laugh, Jaken stilled and turned to face her. "Why you, human brat! I'll whip the life from you!" he screeched, flailing once more.  
Rin continued to laugh and released her prey. She kneeled down and gave him a proper hug, which he begrudgingly returned, muttering under his breath every foul word he knew. "I missed you," she whispered, so only he could hear.  
Jaken coughed into his hand to hide his tears and, once composed, he really looked at her. She was a woman now, and was even good looking, for a human. Her smile was spirit and compassion all rolled into one, and Jaken couldn't help but feel like a proud uncle.  
"Look at this! You were kind enough to stop by to see an old man before slaying the demon."  
"What? What demon?" Rin and Kohaku asked simultaneously, confused.  
"The one at the village, the one the monk tried to kill. Apparently that lazy lout failed, since all the maidens are still dying. The headman came and asked for my help, but I obviously can't leave here. My duty is too strong and I cannot fail my Lord." He raised himself up with all the self-importance he could muster.  
"What monk and what demon? We came to ask you questions about Lord Sesshomaru," Rin stated, but couldn't help but remember the monster that followed them through the day.  
Jaken deflated and shrugged. "Maybe you should come in and we will chat over lunch."


	15. PART 15 (The New Lake)

Inuyasha growled as he slammed the axe down, the wood shattering on the cutting block and flying in all directions. He had been cutting wood for the village since he and Kagome came to stay with Sango, waiting for Rin to show up. Now that he was looking at his woodpile, it looked more like kindling than anything. Sango stepped out of her house and eyed the massive pile of splinters, forcing a smile on her face.  
"Thank you so much for help out around here."  
"Don't mock me, you want us out of here as much as I want to leave," he hissed back, tearing a log in two with his bare hands. Inuyasha was only dangerous when he felt cooped up and bored. Like all good boys, he needed space to run and mark his territory.  
"I have enjoyed getting to spend time with my friends," she stated, and went to walk past him with a basket of wet laundry.  
"Miss Sango!" A man from the village ran up the steps to where Sango and Inuyasha stood. The man looked at the half demon with eyes full of mistrust and turned to the slayer.  
"What's wrong, Li?"  
"There's a man here looking for Master Kohaku. That demon your husband left to kill has returned."  
Sango set down the laundry and wrapped herself in the air of authority as the head of the Demon Slayer Village. "Slow down, and try again."  
Li took a deep breath. "A headman came last year and asked for help, remember? He said a giant monster had been stealing the souls of priests and young women and asked for our help. Your husband left to get rid of the monster and was lost to us." The man, Li, didn't notice the twitch in the woman's cheek at the mention of her lost beloved, but Inuyasha noticed it and looked away. "That same headman is back and asking for Master Kohaku to slay the beast for real this time."  
"Bring the man here please, Li." Her voice was without any feeling. She couldn't feel anything right now. When she was alone she could cry, but right now, she couldn't.  
As Li returned with a frail, weathered looking man, Kagome stepped out of the house with Mushin in hand. They all bowed to one another (well, not Inuyasha, who ignored everyone) and everyone sat down on the deck, Sango's laundry forgotten.  
"My Lady, thank you so much for seeing me, but it's your younger brother I must speak with," the headman stated as he sat with her.  
"I'm sorry sir, but Kohaku has yet to return from his previous engagement," she explained. "What has changed to prompt you to ask for help now?"  
"Before, we were unable to see the monster that killed the women and priests; it was a shadow in the night that struck quickly. We have seen the monster now; a group of village children were down at the new lake playing and saw the beast."  
"How do you know it was the same demon? Just because there's a demon hanging around doesn't make it its fault that people are dying," Inuyasha barked. Kagome turned to scold her husband but stopped when she caught the look in his face and the age-old fight between the two popped into her head. Kagome wanted children and Inuyasha refused to give her any.  
"It has to be the same demon; it had horns and tried to attack the kids when they tried to go to the new river." The man grasped Sango's hands. "Please, send your brother to kill the thing before there is no one left."  
"I'm sorry sir, but as I said my brother isn't back yet."  
Li jumped in, "That can't be, I saw him at the house the other day. He even stopped to resupply at the shop before coming here."  
"No…I haven't seen him for two weeks, I would know if he were here," Sango said slowly.  
"Wait, when exactly did you see him at the house?" Inuyasha demanded.  
"Two mornings ago, not long after you two arrived," the man stammered, terrified of the half-demon.  
The three friends looked at one another, sharing the same thought. "He heard that Rin was missing and must have gone after her," Sango stated.  
"And if neither of them is here, then we have done nothing but waste time waiting for them," Inuyasha added.  
"Shit," Kagome said, sighing. "Wait, you keep calling it the new lake, why is that?" she asked the headman completely derailing her train of thought.  
"Well, last year the damn broke and flooded the lower part of the valley, a lot of our crops were lost. We don't have the funds to rebuild the damn so looks like the lake is here to stay…never got around to naming it."  
"Last year the damn broke, during a storm?" Kagome asked. "Like the storm that happened the night the monk disappeared while working in the village last year?" Sango gasped, hands flying to her mouth as she realized the same thing Kagome had.  
"We scoured that village for weeks looking for our friend and not once did anyone think it important to tell us the landscape had changed!?" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing the old man by the front of the shirt and pulling him off the deck.  
The man squeaked and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that would have mattered!"  
"We have to go," Kagome said, standing up and getting ready to go before she remembered the baby in her arms.  
"What about Rin?" Sango asked.  
"Kohaku is obviously with her, but right now there is a village being attacked, and we have to figure out where Miroku went. Now that we know the valley flooded, maybe we can finally get answers," Kagome said, shooting the headman and slight glare as she spoke.  
Sango looked like she was on the verge of tears. They may not have spent a lot of time together recently, but her friends were ready to drop everything when she needed them.  
"It's a long way back; it took me three days to get here," the headman reminded them, and nodded for Inuyasha to put him down.  
"Don't worry. Between me and Kirara, we will be there in a few hours," Inuyasha stated as he dropped the man to the floor.


	16. PART 16 (Lunch and Swamp Mud)

Jaken's hut was cramped, and made Rin feel nervous and breathless. Kohaku was leaned against Rin's side, trying to leave room for the small demon to move around the hut, whom was busy preparing meat slices on bread. Jaken had a pip in his step and was humming to himself, happy to have company to break his solitary banishment.  
Rin couldn't help but notice the muscles through Kohaku's shirt, and the warmth that radiated off him as he pressed into her side. She turned her head slightly and, from behind the curtain of hair that escaped her bun, really looked at his face. His childhood freckles were gone, hidden by the deep tan of his skin. His freckles were gone and she had somehow found them on her own face as she got older. She smiled at the thought and continued her inspection. Stubble grew along his strong jaw line, and small scars littered his lip and cheeks.  
How long had it been since she had seen a true and genuine smile on his face? They used to joke and laugh carelessly with one another, and now he seemed so… defeated. Why did he detest Lord Sesshomaru so much now? Kohaku had spent plenty of time with him, and even admired him at one point. Now, he hated Sesshomaru with such venom that even she could taste it. What was happening with her friend, and why did he seem so set on treating her like she was still a child?  
Jaken set a wooden platter down on the floor and jarred Rin from her fascination with Kohaku's face. Jaken noticed her staring and gave her a knowing, pointed look that caused a red blush to creep up her neck and face.  
"Let's eat and catch up, I don't get many visitors out here. Well, unless you count all the demons that have been passing through." He poured tea for them, which smelled foul, but he was trying hard to cater to the humans in his home by partaking in their customs. Rin smiled and accepted the cup, taking a sip.  
"Thank you Master Jaken," she said, and forced a smile on her face as she swallowed as much spit in her mouth as possible to get rid of the taste.  
"A lot of demons have been coming here?" Kohaku asked, not even bothering to drink what he suspected was swamp mud.  
"Over the years, demons of every kind came here for one reason or another. After a time, they realized I wouldn't let them near the place and that this area had nothing to offer them and stopped. About a month ago, there was a mass migration of demons passing through here." He offered Rin some meat and bread. "It's the strangest thing. They don't even stop, they just keep going west."  
Rin stopped chewing. "They were all headed west?" she asked. Jaken nodded. "Does Lord Sesshomaru know so many are headed into his territory?"  
"I sent Ah-Un with a message to him, but neither a reply nor the infernal beast returned." A tear welled up in his large, round eyes. "My Lord is still bent on punishing me."  
"Why did you get banished here?" Kohaku asked.  
Jaken sniffed. "It's not important. What did you want to ask about My Lord?"  
Rin smiling at his attempt of changing the subject and pointed out the tiny window to where the white flag with flowers stood flapping in the wind. "What does that flag mean?" Her thoughts were on the woman from the dream, and the ancient kimono she wore.  
"That? That's Lord Sesshomaru's family crest; certainly you noticed it on his sleeves before." Rin did remember the flowers on his kimono that were so much like the woman's, she just never thought it meant anything till now. "My lord's mother came from the Moon Fang clan, which is a prestigious and the oldest among the Inu no Daiyōkai families. When Toga took her as his mate, he should have taken her family crest as his own, since his family was a lower status then hers. However, when he started his crusade to be the protector of the west and all who resided there, he created his own family name and family crest, that one. The crest of the 'Lord of the West'."  
Rin was thoughtful for a moment. When they called him Lord Sesshomaru, she always thought he was some kind of royalty, not that he was named lord because of his family duty. "How many people, or what status, gets to wear that crest?"  
"The only people who have ever worn it was Lord Toga and Lord Sesshomaru. Even Inuyasha would not be permitted to wear it." Jaken said slowly, curiosity written on his face.  
"No one else can ever wear it?"  
"Well, no, Sesshomaru's son would, if he were to have one, and I guess if he ever took a wife or mate, then she would wear it as part of his household."  
Rin's insides twisted at the word wife. Was that who the woman in the dream was? Is that who Sesshomaru's mother wanted Rin to free, his mate?  
"Curious that's the question you wanted to ask about him."  
"It wasn't, we just seemed to have been sidetracked," Kohaku cut in, watching the pain on Rin's face.  
"Is there a difference between wife and mate?" she asked Jaken, her voice barley a whisper.  
Jaken was quiet for a moment, trying to read the expression in her eyes. "Yes. For Inu no Daiyōkai anyhow. A mate is one chosen for the most promising offspring. A mate is a confidant and I guess a lifelong friend. Sometimes a wife and a mate can be the same person. A wife, however, is chosen with a romantic aspect. Love, if you will. Lord Toga's mate was Sesshomaru's mother, but Inuyasha's mother was his wife."  
That didn't make Rin feel any better. Either way, the woman she saw had a connection to Sesshomaru that Rin didn't, the woman chosen to bear his offspring, or a woman he loved…or both.  
"Why are you asking this?" Jaken asked quietly.  
"Sorry, I just never thought about the dog demons before, the only one I knew was Milord…and Inuyasha, I guess."  
Jaken pointedly ignored her grouping in his master with the mutt. "What did you come to ask about?"  
Rin didn't have the spirit to continue, she felt crushed to her core at the realization of who the woman was. Obviously, Jaken did not know of her existence, since he mentioned a wife or mate as a possibility, not a fact. Jaken wouldn't have the information they were looking for.  
"Show him the stone." Kohaku's voice was even and emotionless with the topic of conversation. Rin shot him an annoyed glare, but pulled the stone out from under her shirt and presented it to Jaken.  
The stone took up the entirety of her palm and shone with a soft light. She could feel the hummed song in her bones, the same song she heard in the void.  
Jaken's sudden intake of breath confirmed he knew what it was despite the fact he had not been present when the Meido Stone brought her back from her second death.  
"Where did you get that?" He visibly shrank back from the stone.  
"Tell me what you know first."  
Jaken stood up and began to pass the short length of the hut, wringing his fingers. "I don't know much, since my lord rarely spoke of the time before I came into his service, but a lot of information I gathered along the way. The Inu no Daiyōkai clan was once a large clan and feared among other demons. Toga, Sesshomaru's father, was in charge of the whole clan and its family, as well as protecting the humans and other demon tribes of the west. At some point, a precious and dangerous stone was stolen from the Inu no Daiyōkai clan, which sparked a war between the west and the Panther Demon Tribe. A lot of the clan was destroyed, some say due to a personal betrayal, and the clan never really recovered. Its wasn't long after that battle that Lord Toga met his end, and Sesshomaru became lord of what was left." Jaken stopped and looked at the stone. "That stone and the Inu no Daiyōkai that mastered it was the reason for all of that."  
Rin looked down at the stone and squeezed it. That wasn't very helpful information, all of what Jaken had said meant nothing to her. She put it back under her shirt and motioned for her friend to sit down. "Sesshomaru's mother gave it to me. She said it only saved my life to fulfill a purpose, to awaken the person who owns it."  
Jaken narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know anything about the person or where they are if that's why you're here."  
"Well this wasn't very helpful." Kohaku stood up, forgot where he was, and smacked his head against the roof. Swearing sharply, he rubbed his head and headed for the door.  
"Wait, what are you going to do about that demon? When the headman asked for help I sent him off to look for you," Jaken squeaked, grabbing Kohaku's pants.  
"There's not much I can do, Sango will get the message and help. I have already promised myself to Rin's endeavor."  
Rin stood more carefully and fallowed the slayer outside. "It's ok Kohaku, it's not far and we might as well help. You're the best for the job and you know it," Rin said. She then bent down and kissed Jaken on the cheek, stating, "It was nice to see you again."  
Jaken watched the two walk off into the distance, Kohaku watching the tree line and looking annoyed and Rin watching the ground in an obvious depression. He waited 'til he couldn't see them anymore before going back inside, back to his solitude.


	17. Part 17 (A True Terror)

Kohaku pushed the pair hard, trying to make it to the safety of the valley and village before night settled across the landscape. Rin glanced at the tightness in his jaw and the stiff set of his shoulders as they sped along the rough road, his eyes darting frantically along the tree line. Whatever monster had begun to follow them the previous night had continued to follow them, keeping tightly to the shadows of the leaves. Something inside her, and probably her companion, told them they needed to get to the village before sunset, or else whatever was hanging out in the shadows would be able to attack them. They had not seen the beast, but could feel its hard glare on them, getting more and more intense as the sun dropped lower, sending fear running down their nerves.  
"We are not going to make it," he hissed under his breath, stopping abruptly and digging in his pack. Rin hopped back and forth on her feet, too filled with anxiety to hold still. Her eyes looked behind Kohaku, back to the top of his head, and back to the trees where the ominous feeling grew more and more intense. "Would have made it if you could walk faster."  
"You're really going to complain and throw blame right now? Seriously?" Rin hissed back, her eyes watching a point in the foliage and feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  
"Yeah, I am!" He pulled his chain-scythe out of the pack and clipped it to his belt. He quickly shed his robe and loose pants, throwing them to the ground. Standing in his armor, which he always wore beneath his clothes, he looked at Rin and sneered, "I don't know what's wrong with you, but your infatuation with the demon has to end."  
"Wha-what are you talking about?" she shrieked, completely forgetting the situation. How could he be so bi-polar? Calm and collected one second, then freaking out over something so random the next?  
"What, you thought you were clever with those questions you asked Jaken? Talking about his mate and wife, as if he's some kind of prized breeding horse, then spending the rest of the day feeling sorry for yourself? It's sick Rin, and I thought if I left it alone you'd realize it too."  
Clenching her fist, feeling the acidic taste of anger rising up in her, Rin locked her eyes on her friend. "Exactly what is sick, Kohaku?" Her voice shook with rage. The tension between them grew ten-fold as they stared each other down. Why was he bringing this up now? They were both on edge and scared, but now was not the time for him to lose it.  
"He was grooming you, Rin. You were a child, and he was getting you ready, for what? To be his child bride? I don't care if he's a demon and they do things differently, but that's wrong and it's disgusting!" He shouted at her, arms flung wide, the chain on his weapon rattling.  
Ice flooded through Rin, and every muscle in her body locked. She opened her mouth to scream at him when movement over Kohkau's shoulder caught her attention. All the training Kohaku and Kagome had given her over the years took over as Rin grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him to the ground on top of her.  
A dark shadow flew over the top of them, mere inches from their bodies, and landed behind them. Kohaku reacted quickly, rolling off Rin and springing to his feet in one swift motion. Bringing his chain-scythe up, he caught a blow on its blade just in time that flung him backwards a couple of feet. He hit the ground with a thud that audibly knocked the air from his lungs.  
Rin rolled, kept low, and shuffled to him, glancing over her shoulder to see what had flown over them. The blood drained from her face and she stopped moving as she saw a towering, hunched beast standing behind her. Its eyes glowed a volcanic red, and silver teeth bared in what she supposed was its mouth. The monster stood at ten feet easy and stood on paws. The monster did not seem to have skin; instead it was made up of shifting shadows and darkness. The beast almost seemed familiar to her as its eyes bore into her. Finally pulling herself from its gaze, she reached the slayer and laid a hand on his chest.  
His eyes opened and looked at her glazed and unfocused. "Ouch," He groaned as she helped him sit up. Rin glanced back at the monster who still stood in the middle of the road watching her, not Kohaku.  
"There you are, little girl." Rin felt shock run up her spine as a horrible, garbled voice leaked from the monster.  
"That's the monster from my dream, the monster from the void," she whispered as her hand creeped down and grabbed Kohaku's.  
"The void?" he questioned, trying to focus on the beast.  
"You have been there before, remember, with Lord Sesshomaru? It's the bridge between worlds."  
"I thought you smelled like a Miko, though you don't look like one." The beast stalked forward, hints of hard muscle shifting under the shadows; it didn't make a sound as it moved, as if it wasn't actually standing on the ground.  
Kohaku's face scrunched up in confusion as he tried to remember what she was talking about, and then recognition dawned on his face as he remembered. "That thing is from the netherworld? How did it get here?"  
Rin shook her head; she didn't have time to explain that the netherworld was just one of many worlds the Void connected. If the beast had been in the void with the woman fighting it, then how was it here now? How had it stalked them throughout the day if it was somewhere else?  
"You're not completely here, are you?" she asked the monster that slowly stalked them. Kohaku jumped to his feet and pulled Rin up, shoving her behind him as he took a defensive stance at the approaching thing.  
"Clever little Miko." It stopped moving and a warped smile stretched over its shadowy face. "Move away boy, I just want the Miko and the spiritual power she harbors." The voice was so gut wrenchingly disturbing and sounded disgusting as it spoke. The stone beneath Rin's robes vibrated slightly, as if annoyed at the sound of the monster's voice.  
"Stronger demons than you have tried to take her from me beast, I would like to see you try." An angry smile danced across Kohaku's tan face, and a fierceness Rin had never seen flashed in his eyes. For a moment, Kohaku was the most dangerous and most beautiful man Rin had ever laid eyes on, and in her place behind him, she clapped a hand to her stomach. A fluttering feeling turned in her lower abdomen, a feeling that was completely new to her as his words washed over her and filled her heart. She didn't have time to analyze the feeling, but the reference to Sesshomaru trying to take her away from the slayer was not lost on her, and she couldn't help but think of their argument. Was he jealous of her relationship with the demon, or was he jealous of her obvious feelings for him?  
The shadow beast threw its head back and a spine-tingling, gargled laugh came from it. "Then let's see who is left standing!" In the blink of an eye, the beast launched at Kohaku, paws stretched out, and deadly silver claws reaching towards them. The slayer brought his chain-scythe up and blocked the blow, this time managing to keep on his feet. As the monster leapt away, Kohaku threw his weapon and caught the creature in the front leg. Just as the blade sunk into its shadow flesh, Kohaku pulled the chain and quick like, lighting slashed the beast across the chest. The beast let out a bellow as the experienced demon slayer slashed at the monster repeatedly, never letting up for a second, forcing it back.  
Rin's breath caught in her throat where she stood, far enough away from the pair to give her friend the room he needed to maneuver. She hadn't seen him in action for a long time. Well, not outside the sparring arena. Actually, seeing him run, jump and dodge to attack the monster was like watching a beautiful dance. He swung his weapon around and played with the chain, never losing momentum as his graceful movements tore the shadow beast apart. Again, the fluttering bombarded her stomach and gooseflesh crawled around her skin as she watched him move.  
Magnificent. The thought snapped her out of her voyeur state and brought her back to the battle. Shaking her head, trying to shake off whatever madness had invaded her mind, Rin backed up more and more as the battle progressed, getting closer and closer to her.  
The two broke apart where they had been locked claw to blade and put several feet between them. Kohaku was breathing fast and shallow, sweat running down his face. Deep scratches littered his hands and arms where he had got too close to the sharp claws. The monster, on the other hand, had no marks on its dark body, even though Kohaku had made contact several times. How were they supposed to defeat the powerful monster that did not bleed?  
The shadow beast tensed, getting ready to strike, head lowered to the ground and strong shoulder muscles bunched, ready to pounce on the ailing demon slayer. Kohaku widened his stance, feet scraping against the ground as he squatted into a defensive pose. The beast faked a lung, forcing Kohaku to step back, thinking to brace himself from the monster's heavy body. Instead, his foot stepped into the soft sand of the roadside and gave out. The second his balance was compromised, though only slightly, the monster really did lung at the unstable slayer.  
Rin took a step forward to… to do what? What was Rin supposed to do? How could she possibly help the experienced demon slayer with nothing but a bone dagger? She had training, she could hold her own, but against this otherworldly beast she had nothing.  
A thought struck Rin at the same moment the beast almost contacted her friend, the world slowing down in her mind's eye. If Rin was a trained Miko and knew how to use spiritual powers, then she really could fight an otherworldly shadow monster.  
Just before the beast landed on Kohaku, just before Kohaku would be dead or horribly maimed, a massive, scaled body crashed through the trees and snatched up the shadow beast in massive reptilian jaws. Rin gasped as the two gargantuan monsters almost crushed Kohaku, who jumped into the ditch on the side of the road at the last second. It was pitch dark now, and Rin could barely see anything by the moonlight, but the new monster was unmistakable. It reared its massive reptilian head, eyes glowing a sapphire blue as it spit the shadow beast from its mouth. Two long horns protruded on the top of its head and a long, seafoam green frill ran down its back, a sharp contrast to its obsidian scales. Two thick wings rested on its side, solid and membraned like a bat. Strong, scaled legs advanced on the shadow beast as it let out an ear-shattering scream into the air.  
"What the hell is that?" Kohaku gasped, coming up behind Rin and clutching his ribs. Rin gaped and an estranged sound escaped as she stared. Her brain scrabbled for words and her mouth failed to cooperate. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she finally managed to speak a single word.  
"Dragon!" Well, she didn't speak the word, her brain being so muddled and having absolutely no volume control, and screamed the word while instantly beginning to run.  
Kohaku ran to where their packs lay scattered under a tree from all the violence and grabbed them up, taking off after Rin, who didn't even bother to check if he was following her. Adrenaline shooting through her blood and an uncontrollable fear snaring her brain, Rin simply ran as fast as possible. The shadow beast had been frightening enough, but the massive black dragon that was taller than the sacred tree set off a primal terror that her brain couldn't handle.  
"What do you mean that's a dragon? Aren't dragons all long and lithe, you know, like heavenly beings?" Kohaku caught up with Rin easily, glancing back where he could still see the glowing eyes and head above the forest canopy. He was right, this dragon had a thick, short body with a long-barbed tail, and it was built like a rock instead of sensuous like a snake. It didn't matter though, Rin knew it was a dragon.  
The shadow beast flew overhead and crashed to the ground in front of them, the dragon having hurdled the monster several yards. Rin and Kohaku slid to a halt, rapidly changing directions and leaving the battleground in the road for the relative safety of the forest. The forest was dark and in her blind flight, Rin tripped over an exposed root, slamming into rocks and dirt. A large, jagged rock pierced the soft flesh of her check, cutting completely through the meat to her teeth. She felt one of her back teeth snap as it contacted with the hard stone, her mouth filling instantly with hot blood. Rin screamed in pain and slowly sat up, pulling her cheek from the protruding rock. Hot blood ran down her face and neck in a thick, unstoppable river of crimson, soaking her robe and spilling on the ground.  
"Rin!" Kohaku turned back to help her off the ground. He sharply sucked in air as his eyes fell on the jagged hole in her cheek, her skin pale and body shaking. She looked like she was trying to scream, but was unable to from shock. The dragon roared again somewhere behind them, its piercing scream shaking the trees and sending all the nesting birds in the area flapping off on terrified wings. Kohaku crouched, crushing Rin to his chest, racking his brain for what he could possibly do to get them out of this impossible situation.  
An unnerving silence fell over the forest. No more sounds of the dragons' massive body, or growls from the shadow beast. Kohaku waited ten heartbeats before dragging Rin to her feet, and supported her with one arm. He walked slowly at first, straining his ears for any sound of the fighting behemoths. When he could wait no longer, he half dragged the shocked girl with him towards the comparative safety of the village. Rin didn't speak, and allowed him to guide her along like a lost child. When they could finally see the lights of the village in the valley, and all the villagers milling about below them, having heard the battle raging in the forest, they stopped. Feeling a sense of relief at the hope of safety, Rin passed out, dragging the ragged demon slayer with her. As the darkness crept in, Rin thought she heard Kagome's voice in the distance, calling her name. She thought it was strange, considering she had left them all behind, but could think no more as she finally succumbed to sleep.


	18. PART 18 (Walking Down Memory Corridor)

Disjointed images flashed before Rin's eyes as she walked down a long, stone corridor. She knew she wasn't sleeping, though she also wasn't awake, either. It felt like the void she was in before, but also different. Rin wasn't sure where she was or how she came to this place, but as she looked around, it seemed composed of memories, whipping down the hall and guiding her to whatever waited for her at the end.  
She stopped and looked at one image, moving high up on the wall and flashing brilliantly. As she looked at the images around it, as far as she could tell, it seemed as if the memories that meant more to the person they belonged to shone brighter than others, and contained more detail and definition. Whereas other memories that were insignificant, such as waking up and going about a routine like any other day, were very dim outlines in comparison, almost as if on the verge of being forgotten.  
The one that caught Rin's eye was that of a little girl in a black kimono, playing with sticks next to a river. Her short white hair brushed gently along her jawbone, and bright, gold eyes danced with excitement as the child built a small house of leaves and grass with the wood frame. There was no sound in the memory, but Rin could see the girl's mouth moving with the cadence of a song as she worked on her tiny house.  
Moving along, Rin walked down the hallway some more until she found a similar memory of the girl playing, only this time in a blue short robe, and she had her short hair tied back from her face with thin vines. So far from what Rin could see, there was no parent or guardian with the girl. She was always alone in the forest as she played. The girl cautiously approached a river with a small water skin. Rin could hear the faint roar of the water, and wind blowing in the treetops, unlike some of the other memories that were void of sound. The girl reached out a bare foot and felt in the muddy bank until she met a stable rock, slowly lowering herself to the river. When she was just an arm's length from the water, she pulled the stopper from the water skin out with her pointed teeth and stuck it in the rushing river. The girl winced at the cold water rushing over her hand as it filled the container. Once full, she started to pull the heavy skin from the river. Thrown off balance, the girl tipped into the river and plunged into its icy current.  
Rin gasped as the small child instantly slid under the surface of the water, and could hear the gurgling screams from her as she sucked fluid into her lungs. The memory soon went dark, and Rin waited with baited breath for it to come back and show her what happened to the nameless girl. When it didn't, Rin ran down the corridor, checking the walls for the next memory to show her that the girl was fine.  
Another shining memory caught her eye. The surroundings were dark, but it also flashed of sapphire and green, making Rin stop in her tracks as she watched. A long, glittering blue tail was moving in the dark, cold depths of the river. Pale skin and green eyes that seemed to lack pupils focused on Rin. Well, not Rin, but the girl whose eyes Rin was seeing through.  
"What kind of demon is that?" Rin muttered to herself, as a webbed hand grabbed the girl and pulled her to the surface of the river. Once the girl's head broke the water's surface, she sucked in a sputtering breath and coughed violently, and the strange fish creature pulled her to shore. With a powerful and graceless heave, the being threw the girl onto the shore, landing in a wet, coughing ball.  
The girl lay on the muddy bank for several minutes, catching her breath and warming under the sun's midday rays. The girl sat up, shed her wet cloths down to her undergarments, and turned back to the river. Surprised, the girl leaned closer to the water to find the green eyes staring back at her from below the surface, and a blue finned tail undulating next to the strange demon. Rin couldn't make out the features of the creature's face, but she could tell whatever it was, it was beautiful.  
The images around the drowning memory flashed nonsensically as the girl repeatedly returned to the river and seemed to speak to the fish creature in the water for hours, though the creature never seemed to talk back. One day, when snow was falling on the forest, the girl returned to the river to find no green eyes under its surface, nor a blue tail disturbing the soft flow. The girl spent hours walking up and down the riverbank, searching for her rescuer, who she, at that point, thought of as her friend.  
Rin's heart broke as she watched the sad, wandering child search helplessly for the only other being who seemed to care about her wellbeing. Rin, clenching a hand to her chest, moved past the sad memory and towards the brightest one that she had come across so far.  
A man stood in front of the girl, in the melting snow of the forest. Rin knew he was a dog demon like Sesshomaru with his pale skin, silver hair and cold, gold eyes. This man seemed older than the dog demon Rin knew, with a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. He had a blue diamond-shaped mark on his forehead, and black cloud wisp markings under both eyes. His hair was tied into a tight high tail that brushed the backs of his legs, a soft breeze making the ends dance.  
The man reached out to the child, who was also a few years older at this point. Her thin legs and arms where long and lanky, like most children as they entered puberty, and her robe was worn and thin, barley covering her hips. The girl reached out and took the man's hand and, for the first time, Rin could actually hear words.  
"Father. Is it finally over, the test?" Her voice was high, and concern edged her words.  
"Yes, child, your test is over, and you survived on your own." he said, and then turned and led the girl through the forest. A long, white pelt that belted his waist brushed against the girl's legs, and she tried to keep up with the man's long strides.  
"Where are we going now?" she asked breathlessly as they walked deeper and deeper into the woods. "Will I get to go home now?"  
The man was silent for a moment, his jaw flexing with strain as he though over his next words. "No, daughter, you will not be returning home. You were an extra child, a third, and you have no place in our clan. You will spend your life serving a purpose for the clan elsewhere."  
Tears danced along the girl's eyes and she looked down to hide her shame. "Oh," was all she could muster as she followed her father.  
Rin had asked Inuyasha why his father only had two children once. A demon that lived so long, and was so powerful, one would only assume that he would have hundreds of children running around. Inuyasha said he wasn't sure why, but most dog demons only had one or two children because that's all that they needed. He said producing many children was a human thing, since many children didn't live long due to disease or lack of resources. From this conversation, Rin deduced Dog demons were limited to having two children. No wonder the race died out to the brink of extinction.  
After some time, the memory changed, and the two were standing before a rocky slope of a massive mountain that disappeared into the clouds above. A woman stood before them, a large, wickedly curved glaive in hand. She had a metal mask that covered her nose and mouth, and sharp, light gold eyes narrowed in scrutiny as she looked over the girl. Her long, silver hair was almost pure white, like snow, and she had no visible markings on her face.  
"Is this the girl? She actually managed to get through her separation trial?" the woman scoffed, still sizing up the thin girl.  
"Yes, unfortunately she survived, so I hope you will take her in and train her as a maiden of this shrine. Let her be of some use to this world."  
"You understand that, if she is accepted into the Order, she will no longer be allowed to use your family name again. A sister of the stone will always be a sister of the stone. She will not be allowed to have a husband, or mate, and will not be allowed offspring." The woman looked between the two with a scrutinizing gaze as she spoke, gauging their reactions. "Many a time this happened. A family would come to have their child join, yet, when the terms are laid forth; they would turn and go back to whence they came." The girl looked confused, not understanding the weight of those words, and the father looked stony, as if refusing to balk at her statements.  
Finally, he released the girl's hand and pushed his daughter to the woman. "I understand. From this day forth, her name will be struck from the records, and she will no longer be a daughter of the Sky Cloud family."  
The girl whipped her head around and gaped at her father as he turned his back to her and walked away. The look of hurt and pain that marred her young face made Rin's hand clench tighter. How heartless could one man be, to abandon his daughter at the hands of a stranger?  
The memory faded from the corridor wall and Rin couldn't bring herself to look at any more. This child's life had been so sad and filled with abandonment at such a young age that Rin couldn't fathom how she managed to deal with it. After a moment and a glance to confirm, Rin realized there were no memories on the walls of the girl as an adult, or even as a young adult, just the memories of a pre-pubescent girl. Had the girl died at a young age? Had she died in service to the shrine?  
Rin walked on, looking at the faded memories, until she reached a door. The door was wooden, with thick, iron hinges and door handle. It stood slightly ajar, and soft, flickering candlelight shone through the cracks. A wave of nausea ran through Rin, and dread built in her chest as she reached out to touch the handle.  
"Don't look," a familiar female voice said from behind her. Rin snatched her hand back from the handle and spun around, only to find the corridor completely dark and empty, no memories dancing on the walls as they had been before. Every inch of her skin was tingling with electricity as her eyes searched for the speaker.  
"You can never un-see what lies beyond the door." The voice was behind her now, where the door was. She spun around again to face the door, and instead of finding the candlelight, she was faced with a glowing blue eye staring back at her from the darkness of whatever lay beyond the doorway. Rin wrenched herself backward, away from the inhuman glowing eye, and smacked into the wall on the opposite side of the door.  
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," the voice said as the door slammed shut with finality, the sound echoing down the now empty hallway.

_________________________________________________

The sound of the door slamming was still loud in her ears as she sat up on a soft futon and gasped. Instantly her face began to throb and searing pain lanced through her cheek and jaw. She raised her hand and touch a bulky bandage she could feel weighing down one side of her face, she stopped as a sheen of silvery hair caught her eye from between a set of curtains surrounding her sick bed.  
"Milord?" Her dry voice cracked and she ignored the pain in her jaw and she spoke the simple word. Reaching out her hand, Rin ran her fingers down a silvery lock of hair, feeling the soft strands slide across her skin. Golden eyes turned to look at Rin, only they didn't belong to Sesshomaru. Her Lord still hadn't come for her, he still didn't care about her or how much time had passed. Instead, Inuyasha's worried eyes found hers. Thick, dark bags hung under his eyes from possibly several sleepless nights, and dirt and twigs clung to his red kimono.  
Tears welled up in Rin's eyes as she took in the disheveled state the gruff half demon was in. Sesshomaru hadn't come for her, and probably never would, but here was Inuyasha sitting vigil at her bedside, worrying about her and caring for her. When the terror of the chase through the woods came crawling back to her memories, and the strange dreams still fresh on her nerves, the tears spilled down Rin's face in an uncontrollable force.  
She pulled her hand back from Inuyasha's hair and covered her face, shaking uncontrollably as she sobbed.  
"What the hell?" Inuyasha's confused voice sounded from the protection of Rin's hands, and a sliding wooden door slammed open. "Kagome! She's crying, what do I do!?" he yelled, ysteria and worry obvious in his tone.  
"Well, what did you do to make her cry?" Kagome's voice sounded far off and footsteps quickly entered the room.  
"I didn't do nothing; she woke up and weirdly touched my hair-my hair Kagome! - then started crying!"  
"You must have done something," she chided, and an uncontrollable giggle rose up into Rin's throat.  
The two stopped talking as the giggle quickly morphed into a hysterical laugh bordering on madness. The tearing pain in her face couldn't quench the madness in the laugh, and stiches beneath the bulky dressing on her face threatened to break open.  
"Rin! Stop!" Kagome shouted, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and shaking her.  
Rin opened her eyes, tears still running down her cheeks and blood soaking the bandage on her face. "He doesn't care. He left me here." Kagome sat down on the futon and laid a hand on Rin's knee. Rin grabbed Kagome's Kimono. "He doesn't care! I have waited all this time to see him and I took on a task I could never complete with the hopes of seeing him. Where is he?"  
Kagome's beautiful face was taunt with sadness as the younger girl fell apart. Kagome knew the emotions Rin was feeling. She had felt them many times when Inuyasha would run off to be with Kikyo and would leave her behind. She knew how much it hurt to not be loved back by the person you would die for.  
Kagome reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a bag of herbs and, holding her breath, she passed the bag beneath Rin's nose as she continued to fall apart. Rin didn't notice the bag and kept her eyes locked on Kagome's face, her eyes pleading with Kagome to fix the hurt and pain she felt. After a few moments of smelling the special herbs, Rin's face went slack, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and she slumped on the futon, asleep once more.  
Kagome rearranged the girl into a comfortable position and covered her with a thick blanket to ward off shock. "Inuyasha, go fetch the doctor, she tore her cheek back open."  
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, and then ran a gentle hand up Kagome's arm. Moments of intimacy were rare with her husband, and she appreciated the gesture as he turned to find the Head Man's doctor.

____________________________________________

Rin woke up once more, eyes cracking open to stare at the exposed beams on the ceiling, noting the red light spilling in from an open window across the window. The air was slightly chilly and smelled of earth, meaning the day had turned to dusk. She turned her head, expecting to find Inuyasha sitting on the side of her futon. Instead, she found Kohaku's half naked chest bound in heavy wrappings, the young man sitting idly by, sharpening the edge of his chain-scythe.  
"Hey," she murmured. Her voice was light, and she couldn't keep the bite of embarrassment from her tone. Heat rushed up her neck as Kohaku's knowing eyes met hers. He knew about her break down earlier, and Kagome or Inuyasha had probably mentioned the subject of said break down.  
A small smiled played around the edge of his lips as he noticed the telltale blush that spread across her skin. "Well, well, here we all are working ourselves to the bone, and little Rin is just napping the day away."  
She narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to cut him with a witty retort. Instead, she hissed and touched the fresh dressing and poultice pressed to her cheek. Right, she had managed to forget the mangled hole in her face. Lightly, she felt the inside of her mouth with the tip of her tongue. She could feel stiches on the inside of her cheek, several delicate stiches. Dreading what she would find, she also felt the tooth the rock had torn out with her tongue. Instead, she found a wad of something wrapped around her teeth.  
Noticing the weird look on Rin's face, Kahaku helped her sit up and sat back. "It's sap with wheat and some herbs," he stated, motioning with his chin to her jaw. "The doctor said you were lucky that the root of your tooth hadn't broken, and the tooth hadn't come all the way out. He packed it with something that smelled nasty and as long as the tooth doesn't die, then it should set and stay in."  
She pressed the sap packing with her tongue and winched when she felt pain shoot through her jaw. "How bad is my face?" she asked, mentally telling herself not to tongue the stiches or tooth.  
"Kagome said where the rock went all the way through your face will scar, but where the top layers of skin cut should heal fine." He shifted on her bed and winced, holding his side.  
"Broken ribs?" she asked.  
Kohaku smiled and sighed. "Yeah, Sango is pretty pissed." Imitating Sango in a horrible, high-pitched voice, he said, "I swear, you break something every time you're away from the village." Rin gave a lopsided smile and laid a hand over his as he held his sides. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, the two stared at one another, heat passing through their skin where their hands touched.  
Tingles ran up and down Rin's spine as she thought about the moment last night, when she really watched Kohaku fight, and how graceful he was. Then, she remembered their fight, and the horrible things he had said about Sesshomaru. Rin pulled her hand off his and cleared her throat. "I think we should talk and… clear the air." Her voice stuttered, and she wrenched her gaze from his.  
Kohaku cleared his throat and stood up. "We should, but now is not the time." Before Rin could say anything else, Kokahu walked swiftly to the door and disappeared down a long, narrow hall.


	19. PART 19 (The Sway of Emotions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now update to date with all the content we had on Fanfiction. The final part of Arc 2 will be posted here soon-ish, with the holidays and what not it might be a while. We have also started a second story that Miss Marie and I will work on when we hit snags with The Meido Stone (a half assed story is no fun and sometimes you need a break). Thank you for the kudos we got (I don't know what that is but I appreciate it!) and if you have any questions or comments feel free to let us know!  
> \--NinjaBurrito out.  
> P.S. Don't forget to take a look at DeviantArt for our concept art for both stories.

agome watched Rin pull the bowstring back to her cheek. Her shining brown eyes danced with focus and her arm tremored from the strain. Rin held her breath as she lined up the bow and arrow with a sloppily drawn target Inuyasha placed on a tree, the drawing looking suspiciously like his brother. Rin released the air from her lungs and released the arrow. With a resounding twang, the bowstring snapped back to its starting position, and the arrow flew from Rin's fingers, singing through the air to land three feet below the target. Rin sighed and glared at the arrow sticking out of the base of the tree, and ran to fetch it, also checking to see if the tip or shaft had been damaged.  
Kagome watch the girl silently, arms crossed over her chest and fingers tapping on her elbow. Rin was wearing the red hakama and white kimono of a miko that Kagome and Keade had given her a week ago for her birthday, with the chain that held a blue stone peeking from the collar. Rin had explained a little of what had transpired the last couple of days, but Kagome was still confused as to what was going on. Most of Rin's and Kohaku's things had been destroyed or damaged when they left their packs in the forest, and they were trampled by whatever had attacked the pair. Rin's only surviving set of clothes were the red and white garments, and the bone knife sheathed at her hip. Rin had wrinkled her nose when Kagome had presented them to her to change into after her bath, but had grudgingly put them on.  
After a few hours tripping over the hakama and cursing under her breath, Rin had approached Kagome and asked her to give her some training in using spiritual power. Kagome wasn't sure what had caused the change of heart, but the fact that they had been attacked by an unknown shadow beast and then a dragon might have had a lot to do with it. Kagome watched as Rin looked over her shoulder, pulling the arrow from the wood, and then she stopped and watched Kohaku as he ran through a few stretches with his sister to strengthen his healing muscles. She seemed lost in thought as her eyes tracked his movements, a blush creeping up her neck. As soon as he turned towards them, Rin looked away, running back to Kagome with arrow in hand. Interesting, Kagome thought.  
"Why am I so bad at this? You said I was a Miko, Keade said I was a Miko, even that monster the other day said I smelled like one. So, shouldn't this be...I don't know, natural to me?" Rin cried, slamming the arrow down into a quiver. The bandage was off her cheek to let it breath, but the stitches stood out sharp against her pale skin, as did the red, angry mark that ran down the length of her face.  
"It just takes practice, you'll get it," Kagome said, her soothing voice taking on a distinct motherly tone. She motioned for Rin to try again and frowned at her back. Rin should have made more progress than she had, or at least be able to draw on some spiritual power. The girl couldn't even get a spark pulled together. "You need to focus on your breathing, in and out. Feel the pull of the spark in your soul, force it out with your breath, and allow the arrow to fill with it," Kagome said, her voice sounding monotone as she repeated the rhetoric for the fourth time. Rin shut her eyes, concentrating on her inner light that was her spiritual power, and tried to focus it on the arrow, as she had done several times that day. Kagome watched as Rin pulled in a deep breath, sweat running down her forehead. Her eyes flew open, and she released the arrow, it shot again through the air and again landed short of the target, no power on the shaft.  
Rin clenched her teeth and screamed through her nose. "It's ok, let's take a break and we'll work on it later," Kagome said and waved the girl over, pulling her down as they both sat.  
"I don't get it! I'm not a good archer, and I can't manifest any power at all!" Rin huffed as she pulled the grass out by her feet and tossed it.  
"The archery will come with time; you can't master a skill like that in a couple of days. But, it is worrisome that you can't seem to feel your own power," Kagome said, concern in her face as she pondered.  
Rin flushed with embarrassment, and her eyes flickered to where Kohaku was bent over, holding his side and breathing hard. Sango laughed and teased him for being too soft. Sango's baby was on a blanket nearby, watching his mother and uncle as he played with a wooden horse. "They make it look effortless, like they're dancing," she murmured, and looked back of her feet, pouting.  
Kagome sucked on her teeth and snaked an arm around the girl's shoulders. "They have been training to slay demons since the day they could walk. It's not fair to compare yourself to them," Kagome said as she chuckled.  
"You know, I was so jealous of Sango when I was your age. She saved my butt so many times, and I always felt like a burden. Then, one day, without me ever realizing it, I was right there with her, fighting at her side and protecting her back," Kagome sighed, and squeezed Rin's shoulders. "It will happen, just keep working at it."  
"I have a weird question," Rin said after a moment, her head still bowed, hiding behind a curtain of hair.  
"What's that?"  
"Well, if I never get good at archery, does that mean I can't be a Miko?" she asked, and finally looked up at Kagome, her bight brown eyes threatening to fill with self-pity heavy tears.  
Kagome scrunched her face. "No, I don't think that will matter. The Miko that the scared jewel was born from, she used a sword, not a bow. Or so the legend says."  
Rin's face immediately brightened and, before she could speak, her eyes pulled to a point over Kagome's shoulder. "Hey, I have to go, I'll be right back," Rin said hurriedly, and jumped to her feet. Kagome watched, bemused, as Rin took off after Kohaku, who walked down to the shining lake, probably to cool off. Sango walked over to Kagome with her baby in her arms, also watching the two.  
"That's interesting," Sango said, watching the two with an evil grin on her face.  
"I, too, found that interesting. Something has defiantly changed between them," Kagome said, reaching out for Mushin and cuddling him as his mother took Rin's empty spot.  
"Well, nothing has changed for him. He's always carried a torch for her. But, something has changed for her for sure." Sango grabbed her son's hand and pretended to nibble on his fingers. "Has Inuyasha found anything?" she asked, her breath barely a whisper as she asked as nonchalantly as possible.  
Kagome cringed; she had been avoiding the topic of Miroku's search since they had arrived in the village.  
"No, Inuyasha has been all over the river clear up to the dam. The lake is deeper than he can dive in a single breath, but there's no sign." She turned to her oldest friend. "We won't stop Sango, not this time. We won't leave this place until we find something."  
Sango looked less hopeful. She defiantly didn't want to think about the fact that Inuyasha was now looking for a body, but that was better than finding nothing of the man she loved. Changing the subject, she turned to look at the hill Rin and Kohaku had disappeared over. "What did your puppy find where they were attacked?"  
Kagome handed the baby back to his mother and laid back, enjoying the sun on her skin and the grass in her hair. "He said it smelled like nothing he had even smelled before. One smelled like hell, and I'm guessing that was the shadow beast that Rin said was in the void, whatever that is. The other smelled like it could be a demon, but wasn't a demon. Whatever was out there freaked Inuyasha out, maybe even scared him."  
Sango laid back and propped her son on her knees while he yawned. "Well I guess we're lucky that they are alive and, aside from a few nasty scars, more or less unhurt."  
_______________________________________

The sun was setting when Rin finally caught up with Kohaku, who stopped at the lake's edge, pretending like he hadn't noticed her chasing him. He stopped at the water's edge, his back to her as he splashed the cold, clear water on his sweat-soaked face. She stood behind him, running a hand along her arm and waiting for him to speak with her. After a minute he turned to her, his face set in a mask of aloofness, and raked his eyes across the scar on her face.  
Rin's hand shot to her face and covered it. "We still need to talk," she stated hotly, embarrassed by him looking at her marred face.  
"Then talk," he said, his voice low and gruff, and Rin couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable or mildly irritated.  
Rin opened her mouth to tell him off for the hurtful things he had said, and only a hiss of annoyance managed to escape. Gripping the fabric of her hakama, she steadied herself. "You said he was grooming me." It was the first this that popped into her head, and probably the thing that had hurt her the most. She didn't care what Kohaku said about her; made her feel like a child, told her she was stupid and ignorant. But him marring the reputation of her relationship with Sesshomaru, making it seem dirty and inappropriate, was not allowed. Making Sesshomaru seem like a predator, in that sense, was not allowed.  
Sesshomaru had inadvertently done a lot for her. He had brought her back from death twice, he had protected her, and kept her safe. Because of him, she learned to fend for herself, what foods to eat and how to catch game (though it was Jaken who had actually showed her), but it was thanks to Sesshomaru that she had the chance to learn at all. He was a quiet and stern man who had never showed her anything that resembled an emotion, but she had always felt the pain that lay deep in his immortal heart. He could have left her dead, he could have left her alone with no protection, or help… he could have done unspeakable things to her, and instead he had taken care of her. Then, he had left her in a village of humans and abandoned her, because even though she didn't want to admit it, it's what she had needed.  
Rin looked at Kohaku and grabbed his hand in hers. She wanted to convey all these feelings to him, the way she felt about her relationship with the beautiful demon that consumed her heart, and she wanted to convey to him that she understood she had no future with him, no matter how much it hurt to think about it.  
She couldn't read the expression on his face, she couldn't tell if he understood her feelings. He lightly cleared his throat and pulled his hand from her grasp. "Yes, I said that."  
"Why would you say that? You know him Kohaku, you know what he is and isn't capable of, so why say that?"  
Kohaku's jaw flexed as tiny droplets of water ran down his neck. He turned from her and watched the setting sun as it dipped below the tree line. "Because I hate him." He looked at Rin, his eyes sharp and bordered on angry. His fingers brushed along her jawline, light and tickling, before he grabbed her face in his large hand in a tight grip. He was careful to avoid the wound in the side of her face, but made sure she couldn't escape from his penetrating gaze. He leaned down, his eyes locked on hers and his free hand running down her arm. "I hate how you feel about him, and how little he feels about you. I hate how you blush when you talk about him, I hate the look on your face when you're thinking about him, and I hate how sad it makes you to even discuss the possibility of him being with another woman." He leaned down more and whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine and the light fluttering feeling returned from when she watched him fight the shadow beast. "I hate that I hate him for consuming your mind, when that's what I want for myself. You deserve to marry a man who thinks of nothing but you, that you will grow old with, and will love you more and more with each passing day." Rin's heart hammered against her rib cage, and her hands shook when she reached up and grasped the wrist of the hand that held her face. Kohauk's eyes were dark, and his face shadowed as the last rays of the day disappeared, completely leaving them in the dark.  
A new feeling crawled in her stomach and settled impossibly low in her core. Warm heat spread from a very private part of her body that shocked and dazzled her at the same time. She was captured by the look Kohaku gave her, and where his skin met hers. She parted her lips, trying to think of something to say that would make him come closer to her, to touch her more, maybe even kiss her. Kohaku seemed to understand what she wanted and a triumphant grin stretched the corner of his mouth as he leaned down slowly, savoring the moment before he kissed her, almost teasingly. Rin was definitely confused by the emotions swirling in her body, and the aching need that slammed into her for Kohaku to touch her in the most intimate parts of her body.  
His lips were so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her skin and the heat from his mouth. Mentally, she shouted, Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me! The teasing was too much, and she needed him to kiss her, to kiss her how she always dreamed someone would in the late, lonely nights of her budding teenage years.  
Kohaku's entire body froze, muscles instantly freezing as his eyes flicked to something behind Rin. She pulled his fingers from her face and turned to follow his line of sight. At first, she couldn't see anything in the area his eyes were fixed on across the lake. Squinting her eyes, an outline of a man materialized on the opposite shoreline.  
Rin froze. It wasn't a man standing across the lake watching them, it was a demon. Long, seafoam green hair fell to the being's waist, and impossibly pale skin shone with the light on the rising moon. It wasn't the green hair that told her this man wasn't human, but two thick, long horns spouting from the man's head, glinting like polished rock, that told her he wasn't human. The demon seemed to have noticed them watching him and began to walk towards the water, towards them, with slow, purposeful steps. When the demon reached the water he didn't stop, instead walking on the water, his steps sending out light ripples on the calm surface.  
Kohaku grabbed Rin's arm in a painful, biting grip, and shoved her behind him just as the demon's pace picked up and he began to run at them with impossible speed along the surface of the water. Half way across the lake, the man dropped down to all fours, black scales shimmering along his white skin and fangs protruding from his mouth.  
Rin was frozen in shock. She told herself to run, scream, or something other than standing like an easy meal. Kohaku backed up, pushing her back with his body as he, too, stared in shock. Leathery wings ripped from the man's back and in the blink of an eye, the demon was gone and in its place was a massive black dragon.  
"Shit," was all Rin could say, using a word she had learned from Kagome, as the dragon neared the edge of the water and launched into the air at them, Rin only armed with a knife, and Kohaku not even wearing a shirt.


	20. Part 20 (We Meet at Last) End of Arc 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its finally done... Well as done as its going to be for now. It was a long chapter and needed lots of work. If you find anything just let me know!
> 
> Lets all thank Miss Marie for editing the chapter while dealing with some personal things.
> 
> Have a great New Year!
> 
> -NinjaBurrito

Kohaku pushed Rin back with his body, trying to get her as far from both the water and the dragon soaring towards them as possible. Rin stumbled back a couple of paces, trying to keep her balance and keep her eyes on the quickly approaching obsidian reptilian. Her foot landed on something soft, and her back brushed against fur.

“Awww, now you look like a proper Miko. Oh, and it looks like you have the stone,” the gut-curdling voice hissed out several feet above her head. As if on cue, the stone pulsed furiously beneath her kimono, the vibration running through her skeleton and bouncing around her skull. Rin’s muscles froze and her stomach dropped at the horrifying sound behind her, and the fervent reaction made it seem as if the stone, too, was afraid. No warmth radiated off of the soft fur brushing her back and exposed neck. Instead, it was like ice from the coldest mountain top brushing along her spine.

Kohaku heard the voice as well. Stopping their retreat, he spun and grabbed Rin again. He threw her away from the shadow beast, trapping him between the glowering monster and rapidly descending dragon.

‘He’ll be killed!’ She thought to herself as all the doubts from a few nights ago engulfed her with the cold fingers of fear and uncertainty in her abilities. She still couldn’t use spiritual powers, and she didn’t have a bow to embarrass herself with, and would be completely useless. But Kohaku was ready for a fight. He was a strong man, sure, but taking on an otherworldly beast, and a dragon, with no weapon and barley clothed? That was true strength.

It had felt like hours since the dragon had leapt at them, almost like he was suspended in time, but Rin knew that was the adrenaline pushing through her veins, and her focus narrowing. She had to do something to help, they wouldn’t be able to stop the two of them alone, they needed someone stronger and more powerful. There was only one person who could help them now.

She sucked in a deep breath, drawing in all the oxygen she could, filling her lungs with the frigid night air. Just as the shadow beast took a step towards the only being standing in the way of him and his prize, and just as the dragon was a few feet above them, Rin screamed.

“INUYASHA!!!” The scream filled the valley, bouncing off the water and spread to the silent stars beginning to wake for the night and, hopefully, all the way to the village, where the sensitive ears of the half-demon could hear it. The stitches in her face strained as she screamed, stretching out the skin of her cheek.

The dragon paid no mind to the wailing child as it landed on the ground with such strength that the earth shuddered from the force. The aftershock hit Rin, flattening her to the ground as rock and debris exploded around them. Rin rolled into a ball, trying to protect her vital organs from the falling gravel and dust, the material choking her throat and lungs. Sputtering and coughing, she tried to clear her airways and sat up, brushing piles of earth off her.

She could barely see through the clouds of dust, but she could make out the towering form of the dragon that stood where Kohaku had been standing.

“Kohaku?” She whispered in disbelief as the realization dawned on her that her closest friend was under thousands of pounds of dragon. 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

In a tall tree near the headman’s house sat Inuyasha, ears flat against his silver hair and eyes locked on a beautiful woman carrying a baby and singing lightly as the child fussed. Sometimes, Inuyasha found himself stalking his own wife from time to time, and made sure never to mention his habit to her. These last couple of days, between looking for any sign of his friend Miroku and trying to puzzle out the battle in the forest Kohaku and Rin miraculously survived, Inuyasha hadn’t had time for his favorite pastime, which annoyed him. Even more annoying than not being able to observe his wife from a respectable distance, where he wouldn’t be yelled at, was that fact she was always carrying around Sango’s damned baby.

Kagome was very upset with the half demon for refusing to even speak about having a child, and their relationship had grown so tense that he feared a small breeze would shatter it into thousands of unfixable pieces. Inuyasha sighed and leaned against the tree, feeling the last rays of sunlight on his face and, lulled by the off-key singing of the woman he loved, slipped into a lazy snooze. He would eventually have to go in the house and speak with her, and they again would play the game of walking on eggshells for the night, which was beyond exhausting. Until then, he just wanted to enjoy the happy sound and contentment of his wife before ruining the moment for her with his presence.

He felt the moon begin to rise over the mountain, and a cool breeze blew in off the lake, promising an early fall and winter. A strangely familiar smell came with it, one he couldn’t quite place. He cracked a golden eye and stretched, shifting his Tessaiga from the crook of his arm to its place at his hip, sniffing the air and pondering the strange smell. Mid-stretch, a panicked and pain-filled scream blasted up from the direction of the lake. Startled, Inuyasha lost his balance on the tree branch and fell, but gracefully flipped in the air and landed on his feet. In an instant, the worried man was in the room with the wife he was avoiding, the panic plastered on his face.

“What's wrong?” Kagome asked, alarmed as soon as he came tearing into the room.

“Rin’s in trouble, we have to get to the lake.”

“What about Kohaku?” Sango had been resting in a conjoined room after the day filled with training. All the training of demon slaying had her immediately tugging on her armor and grabbing her hiraikotsu.

“He's down there also, but Rin is the one screaming.” Screaming his name, which he didn’t add, but a strange sense of foreboding ran down his spine. The horrified, chilling scream of his name had stopped his heart for a moment. Rin wasn’t just in trouble. She was terrified and convinced she was going to die, and that had scared Inuyasha more than he cared to admit.

“One of us will have to stay with the baby,” Sango stated as she picked up her boomerang, and all three stared at each other for a moment and then looked at the mewling child. No one moved or offered to stay behind. 

Inuyasha was always the one who had to think in these situations. With great annoyance, he threw open one of the doors and disappeared from sight. A quick scream came through the wall, and he reappeared, dragging a house maid behind him. Her face was pale, and she was shaking as he shoved her at Kagome. “There, now let's get out of here.” Not worrying about the objection of the woman in the room, the hanyou walked out. 

Sango and Kagome shot a glance at one another, and Kagome dumped the child into the shaking arms of the maid. She grabbed up her bow and arrow and smiled at the nameless woman. “He's been fed and changed, you just gotta put him for his nap.” 

“He likes to be sung to. Stay in the head man's house tonight, it has the best wards in the village,” Sango added, and headed out the door after her friend. 

The maid sat on the floor and gaped at the open door the three strangest people she had ever encountered had disappeared through. She looked at the cute chubby baby in her arms whose name she didn't know. A rancid smell wafted up to her nose and she scrunched her face at the horrible smell, while the baby just smiled as he emptied his bowels. 

“Well then,” she murmured to the baby. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rin stared at the spot where Kohaku had been standing a moment ago, her eyes met instead with the obsidian shining scales of the Leviathan. Without thought or feeling, she inched forward to get a better look, trying to pierce the thick haze of dirt to find her friend. 

The dragon faced off against the shadow beast. The two stared at one another, issuing deep growls, and seemed to size up one another. A hiss rose from the underside of the dragon, one that sounded seriously like a very inappropriate expletive. Rin gasped and jumped to her feet, running as close to the dragon as she dared. Reaching its forepaws, she found Kohaku pinned beneath the massive creature, its belly low to the ground but still a good few inches from the slayer.

Rin’s brain raced as a realization bounded into her muddled head. In the forest, the dragon had only attacked the shadow beast when Kohaku was about to lose his life. The dragon had never attacked them, and had even allowed them to escape the monster. Tonight, he had just been weirdly watching them and had not acted till he must have seen the Shadow Beast stalking up behind them, and now hadn’t landed on Kohaku, but had shielded him with its massive body. 

Rin looked up to the dragon's side and noticed the deep new scar along its hide, a wound it must have endured while protecting them the last time. Why was the dragon protecting them? What did it have to gain by saving their lives? What the hell was going on?

“Kohaku, are you alright?” she asked, keeping her eye on the enemy as it decided how to proceed next. 

“Yeah, I mean, I just had a 30-thousand-pound lizard land on me, but other than that I'm great,” he snapped as he glared at the underbelly of the dragon. 

He was being sarcastic so he must be fine. “Well, get out of there you idiot,” she shot back, though the relief in her voice was evident. 

“Easier said than done.” The dragon took his eyes off his prey for a moment and looked at Rin with its deep azure hue, distracted by their arguing. Turning back to its target, the dragon lifted one tree trunk front paw enough to allow Kohaku room to wiggle out from under it. Rin helped him to his feet, and they backed away from both creatures and the building growls as they worked themselves into a frenzy. 

“I'm getting tired of you getting in my way. For a year now you have kept me from my prey. I will have her, Sea Being. She will have just enough power to allow me to break free.” The Shadow Beast stated, it’s guttural voice attacking Rin’s nerves once more, the stone giving a halfhearted pulse. 

Leave. A sing-song voice popped into Rin’s brain, accompanied by a sad, flowing song. She whipped her head around to look for the speaker of the word. Kohaku continued to watch the pair of monsters and had not seemed to have heard it. Get away from Diaskue, he will kill you. Again, Rin looked around, but there was no one else near them. She looked down at the stone vibrating against her chest, and an image rushed into her mind of a woman in ancient armor, fighting off the true form of the shadow beast. 

Without needing another warning, Rin grabbed Kohaku and ran for the shore of the lake. The road to the village was blocked by the dragon, and there was no way she was going back to the forest anytime soon after their last adventure, so there was only one place left to go. As soon as they were far enough away, the dragon attacked the shadow beast in a flurry of wings and powerful scaled muscles. Its jaws snapped open, and crushed the beast in its sword length teeth. 

The beast screamed and lashed out at the dragon's eye, clawing at the soft flesh of the lid. The dragon leapt gracelessly away from the beast, throwing up clouds of dirt. Once the dragon was free, it snapped at the beast again, as if it would swallow the thing whole. The beast darted away from the jaws, and with agility the massive dragon didn't possess, it leapt onto the dragons back to get at the thin membranes of the wings. 

“We have to help it!” Rin yelled, grabbing Kohaku’s hand as they helplessly watched the battle rage before them. 

“What the hell do you expect us to do?” He asked as he pulled her back a few more steps to distance them. 

Her next words were cut off as three ribbons of light cut across the sky and struck the two battling creatures. “Wind Scar!” The blast hit the two and threw them apart and to the ground. The dragon landed with an earth shaking thud on its side, and the beast was thrown several yards to the edge of the forest. 

Inuyasha landed in the middle of the two and intently huddled in a defensive stance as he looked in awe at the creatures. Sango and Kagome flew past Inuyasha on the back of the demon cat known as Kirara to where Kohaku and Rin stood at the water's edge. Sango was the first to slide off Kirara’s back and ran to her younger brother, carrying his chain scythe. Kagome jumped down next with a bow in hand, and a quiver of arrows at her back. 

“Are you two ok?” Kagome asked as she examined them with a critical eye. Sango tossed the weapon to Kohaku and turned him around to assess his still healing ribs and the fresh bruises on his back.

“We’re fine,” he said, annoyed at his sister’s probing, and lightly smacked her hand away. 

“That's a freaking dragon!” Kagome screeched, letting the panic fill her now that she knew they were safe. “A fucking huge dragon!”

“It's not the dragon you should worry about,” Kohaku stated as he wrapped the chain of his weapon around his hand. 

“Wait, who else is there?” Sango asked. They apparently hadn't seen the shadow beast on the dragon's back. 

The dragon got shakily to its feet and shook its massive head before leveling a look at the tiny half demon before it. Inuyasha’s gaze snapped to the dragon as he readied himself for the pending battle. A warning flared from the stone against Rin’s chest as something drew her gaze to the trees. 

“Inuyasha!” Without thinking and ignoring Sango and Kagome's grasping hands, Rin took off in a sprint towards Inuyasha. “Not him!” She probably could have come up with better words to warn the hanyou, but her brain was beyond making sense at this point. 

“Rin, get back here!” Kagome's frantic voice called after her as she ran. Rin didn't stop, because she somehow knew what was going to happen, as if the woman she met in the stone was telling her what the shadow beasts strategies were. Inuyasha looked confused at Rin for a second before turning back to the dragon as it shook off the last of its shock. 

The knife. Rin grabbed up the knife from her belt sheath and continued to run to Inuyasha as the shadow beast snuck up behind him. She couldn’t see the beast, but she, no, the stone, knew he was there. Use your spiritual power, throw all of it to the point of the knife. She didn't have time to inform the voice that she couldn't use her spiritual power. Instead, she trusted the voice to guide her as she leaped over the confused man and drove the knife into the point that voice guided her to. 

A scream burst in Rin’s ears so loud, she feared her ear drums would burst. Bright, pink power poured out of the bone dagger as a clump of shadow dropped from the beast. The knife was jammed in the monster's left eye all the way to the hilt and thick goo oozed from the eye socket. The shadow beast jerked its huge head back as it tried to throw Rin away from it. She locked her fingers around the hilt of the blade and refused to release it, pumping all of her power through the knife like a conduit, trying to purify the hideous monster as she was tossed around like a rag doll.

“Rin, let go!” Inuyasha yelled from behind. She looked over her shoulder to where he was standing, Tessiga poised to release another blast of power at the shadow beast. As the beast gave another violent shake of its head, she released her hold of the knife and slammed to the ground a few feet in front of Inauysha. As soon as she was cleared of the monster, Inuyasha swung his mighty sword and more light shot from its blade. 

The beast took to the air, the Wind Scar barely missing it as the monster flew overhead and shot towards the middle of the lake. Its eye still oozed black goo around the knife buried in its eye. Rin got shakily to her feet, her body completely drained of all energy, and the stone lay lifeless against her skin. She stumbled and a hand shot out to steady her. “Thank you Inuy-” It wasn’t Inuyasha who held her elbow to steady her. Instead she found the man with long dangerous horns and flowing green hair. He was breathing heavily and was obviously in pain as his spare hand hung limply at his side.

“Mizuwokakeru,” the beautiful man said, his voice deep and quiet like the dark cold depths of the sea. 

She gaped stupidly at him. “What?”

“My name. Mizuwokakeru.” He released her arm and turned to Inuyasha who stood before them, mouth hanging unapologetically open. 

“That dragon just transformed into a freaking person,” he sputtered, throwing his arms around and gesturing to Mizuwokakeru. Good, Rin’s brain wasn't the only one that had a hard time making words today.

“Now is not the time for this,” the green haired man said, annoyed, and thrust his chin in the direction of the shadow beast that floated in the air above the middle of the lake. The beast had stopped its retreat, and was now eyeing the group, anger and agony evident in its one good eye. 

“Damn you!” It shouted. The horrifying voice made Inuyasha's ears twitch, and Rin noticed Kagome shiver as she and the rest of her friends met them on the hill top. “I will not lose another vessel of spiritual power. I will have you, miko, so I can be reborn! Then I'll kill you, like I did that troublesome monk. Thought he was so clever.” It shook its head. “And look, you brought me another miko to eat, this one is even more powerful!” It dragged its gaze over Kagome's uniform and licked its chops. 

“Monk?” Sango whispered, her hand tightening around her hiraikotsu. “Did you kill my husband? Did you kill the monk who was sent to save this village?!” She screamed at the monster, her voice hedging on hysteria. 

The beast laughed a stomach churning laugh, and its jaws pulled tight into a smile. “I wanted his spiritual powers, and he was keen to give them up. But I couldn't have him around interrupting my feeding of the fledgling priests and miko’s in the region, so I threw him to the flood waters.” The beast glanced down to the still, galaxy surface of the water and its smile grew wider. 

Sango screamed and hurled her giant weapon through the air. The hiraikotsu sang through the air right for the shadow beasts head, Sango’s aim perfect as usual. The weapon slammed against a shimmering wall and bounced off with a shower of sparks, falling to the water below. 

“Is that a barrier?” Kagome asked, grabbing Inuyasha's sleeve to stop her shaking hands. 

“Full of surprises.” Mizuwokakeru whispered at Rin’s side. He held his useless hand to his chest, supporting it with the working one. She hoped Inuyasha hadn't caused any permanent damage to her savior's arm.

“Don’t matter!” Inuyasha yelled as a savage smile crept across his face, the blade of the Tessaiga turned red and air shimmered up the sword. “Barriers won’t stop my Red Tessaiga.”

Kohaku looked excited to see the Barrier Breaker in action. They had seen Inuyasha fight many times over the years, but the sheer power of the Fang was still worthy of awe.

Kagome knocked an arrow in the bow string and pulled it back to her cheek. “I'll force the damn thing down, you hit it when it tries to escape,” she whispered, and narrowed her eyes on her target. Inuyasha smiled at his wife, the thrill of battling with her racing through his veins as feelings from the past emerged in his mind and reminded him why he fell in love with her. 

“For Miroku,” Kagome whispered, and the arrow shot from her bow, the string snapping with a high pitched thwang. The arrow sang through the air, and bright light wrapped around the shaft as waves of spiritual power that Rin would never be able to wield pulsed from it. 

The beasts one good eye went wide with worry as the blazing arrow shot for it. The beast dropped down towards the water as Kagome had predicted, all of its attention on the display of spiritual power. As soon as the beast was distracted, Inuyasha hefted his massive blade over his head and, with all his strength, swung the red blade in the spot he predicted the beast would move to. “Wind Scar!” he shouted a final time, and a tempest of brutality screamed across the water and struck the unsuspecting monster. The backlash of the attack threw Rin off balance, and she stumbled into Kohak’s bare chest. He wrapped an arm around her middle without taking his eyes off the mighty blast of power as it hit the beast and ripped the barrier to pieces, as if it was nothing but paper. The blast was bigger than it had needed to be, not only did it destroy the barrier, but it also hit the water of the lake, causing huge plumes of water to shoot to the air, obscuring their line of sight to the enemy. The forest across the lake shook as another finger of power slammed into the trees, turning many of the trees to splinters in an instant, and ripping other trees up by the root and hurling them through the air. The destructive might of the Tessaiga has been played down a lot over the years, and only now did Rin remember Sesshomaru huddled under a tree, armor destroyed and arm missing. He was lucky that he had only lost an arm if this was the true power of the Fang. 

The water from the lake rained on the group, instantly soaking their clothes and shoes. Kirara shook out her coat and growled with displeasure at being wet. The air cleared enough to see that the shadow beast was gone and the forest on the other side of the lake was all but obliterated. 

“Overkill their honey,” Kagome chided as she took in the destruction. “Did you get him?”

Inuyasha shook his head and sheathed his sword. “I felt the barrier shatter, but he got away before he got caught up in the blast. He’ll be feeling it for a while, though.” 

Kagome turned to Sango to comfort her friend with the confirmation that Miroku was in fact dead. Sango wasn't paying any attention to the conversation and was instead staring at the lake with a confused look on her face. Kagome looked out over the water to see what her friend was so focused on. “What is that?” she asked.

A glow of green light shone under the surface of the water, ripples spreading out on the surface from an unknown source of light. The light continued to grow brighter, and the surface of the water began to boil. “Is it that shadow beast?” Kohaku asked, bringing a hand up to his eyes to shade himself from the rapidly building light. Rin could hear a faint sound from the water, the sound a bottle makes when a person blows across the opening. 

“It's Surian,” Mizuwokakeru whispered in his deep voice. He took off in a run for the water’s edge, still holding his damaged arm to his bare chest, his green hair streaming out behind him. 

The light burst as it reached the surface of the water like a soap bubble popping. The green light was so intense that Rin had to bury her face in the crook of Kohaku’s shoulder, but she could still feel heat on her back from the intense light. The light vanished in an instant, and Rin’s soaked clothes were dry again. She peaked out from her friend’s shoulder and looked to the lake, where Mizuwokakeru stood waist deep in the water. 

Squinting, she could make out two people in the center of the lake where no one had been before. One person had long, silvery hair that reflected the light of the moon, and the other had dark black hair. The group moved hesitantly to the water’s edge, not ready to deal with another surprise tonight. It seemed the person with silvery hair was dragging the dark haired person behind them, and seemed to be swimming at incredible speed. A blue tail flashed in the water behind the two people, a tail shaped like a large fish. Within a couple of moments, the two people were near enough to the lakes edge that Rin could make out distinct features. The silver haired person was a woman, and her hair wasn't completely silver, the tips of her hair faded from silver to a light lilac color, and green finned ears stuck from the sides of her head. Familiarity gnawed in Rin’s stomach, as if she knew this woman from somewhere.

“Miroku!” Sango and Kohaku screamed in unison as the siblings bolted into the water to where Mizuwokakeru waited. Rin, Inuyasha and Kagome followed, with Kirara bringing up the rear as they all waded through the water. 

The dark haired figure was indeed a man in purple and black robes that looked suspiciously like Sango's husband. The woman with the fish tail swam close enough for the group to grab the unconscious man who floated on his back. Sango pulled the man out of the water with great difficulty, not allowing any of her friends to touch him. Once on land, they got the man laid out and pushed the dark hair from his face. “Miroku,” Sango said again, her voice thick with emotion, and eyes flooding with tears. 

Rin turned and watched Mizuwokakeru grab up the fish woman, Surian, Rin guessed, in a tight, one-armed hug and pulled her out of the water. He walked her to the shore and laid her on its sandy beach. The woman's sapphire blue tail caught the moon light like a beacon, and a jade and gold pendant gleamed near her fin. 

Surian smiled at Mizuwokakeru in a friendly manner, her face gaunt and pale, as if she had used up all her energy and was in desperate need of a nap. Rin walked up to the pair, the sensation still gnawing a hole in her stomach. Surian looked away from the horned man and laid light, pupil-less eyes on Rin. 

Rin stumbled and gasped as she took in Surian’s eerie eyes. “I know you,” she whispered at the confused woman as the miko tried to balance herself. “You were in the dream corridor.” The world was growing dark, and Rin’s body temperature was plummeting, she suddenly became aware of the blood running down her face. She must have popped the stitches and reopened the nearly healed hole in her cheek. She was so tired, so sleepy she could lay right down on the rocks and sand and sleep for days. She swayed on her feet as she realized how empty she was from the battle with the shadow beast. “That little girl waited for you, you know,” Rin whispered to Surian, who looked worried and perplexed.

Rin sat down with a thump and laid back on the sandy beach. Despite the cold and how much her body hurt, she simply went to sleep to the sounds of Sango crying as she listened to her husband's regular breaths. 

Today had been a rough day. 

(The end of Arc 2)


	21. PART 21 (A Sword of Heaven and Earth)

A blue moon hung high in the night sky, shining with brilliance that drowned out the stars behind it. Dew from the chilled air hung on the leaves of an old drooping willow. Moon light reflected off the small droplets, sending a cascade of light around the tree, revealing the sleeping form of a beautiful man. The man laid on a thick branch leaned against the trunk on the scarred and weather tree, his long silver hair hanging and fur pelt brushing against the ground below. He wasn't quite sleeping, his chest rising and falling and eyes closed as he traipsed the land between wakefulness and deep sleep. He never truly slept since that was when one would most likely get attacked, instead he dozed. He wore no armor as it lay in pieces at the foot of the tree over grown with weeds suggesting his armor had lain there for quite some time, his white kimono was thread bare and showed signs of constant repair.  
This tree sat on a cliffs edge overlooking a deep dark hole in the center of the forest of Plight. The sink hole had swallowed a mile of earth and was so deep that Sesshomaru's superior sight couldn't see to the bottom, though in his mind and memories he knew what lay there, and had no desire to go and check. When he needed a break or needed to recuperate, he came to this tree to rest and allowed memories of a battle torn woman laying beneath its branches, chest heaving with exertion from the long climb from an underwater cave. Sometimes, those memories would shift into other memories of pleasure and gasping and he would need to force himself awake to avoid the rest of the scene. He had often returned to the statue at the bottom of the sink hole to stare at the beautiful screaming face in its last moments. It quickly grew too painful to gaze upon her face, and hadn't returned in more than a hundred years.  
A voice sounded on the breeze, a feminine voice he recognized, a voice he often found while he dozed in the twilight on the tip of a dream. The voice dance along his nerves and played with the stray stands of hair. Sesshomaru from time to time could still smell Kagura on the wind, hear her voice as it danced around him, before sprinting off with the wind to lands unknown. He sometimes would feel his gut turn in guilt for not being able to return her feelings before her death. But even to this day, there was only one person in his heart and she, too, was dead.  
The smells on the wind changed, and the mildly warm air dropped a few degrees, prompting the demon to crack open his gold eyes and look to the skies. A massive dark cloud passed overhead, blocking out the light of the moon and stars. Three figures descended from the clouds and in strange unison, stopped and hung silently high above the earth. Sesshomaru sat up and jumped down from the tree branch, landing on silent feet and waited for the heavenly being at the edge of the crater.  
Inukimi glided down from the sky with two young female Inu no Daiyōkai behind her. His mother had gathered the last remaining members of their clan and race and moved them to her floating palace in order to preserve what was left. There were very few of his kind left, and it was good to see a new generation being born. She carried a black mahogany box with gold inlay and brass nobs in both hands while her maidens carried cloth packs each that mostly bore clothing.  
"Mother." Sesshomaru dipped his head slightly in an informal bow to his tiny mother that barley came to his chest. His deep, hypnotic voice was light as he spoke to one of the few people he truly admired. She smiled up at him and turned slightly to the two girls behind her, whom both blushed deeply and bowed, refusing to meet his gaze.  
"Son, it has been a long time since I last saw you." Her eyes shot to the arm that had been missing the last time they spoke, and her face relaxed at seeing him fully formed again. Her eyes also flicked to the sword at his side, an unfamiliar sword that did not smell like her mate but instead only of her son.  
He saw the many thoughts flash across her face as she took inventory of the last several years they had been apart. Inukimi was perceptive like that, he didn't need to speak to her for her to know exactly what had transpired in his life. "Why are you no longer wearing armor?" she asked, as she saw the broken and weed infested armor laying below the tree. The question wasn't really aimed at him, more a quiet musing to herself that had managed to escape her lips. "Perhaps it is because you fought so long with a disadvantage that having your arm back means armor is no longer required." She nodded to her son's perfectly intact limb. "Or, since a certain half breed fights without armor you feel like you shouldn't either." Her eyes snapped back to her son as he growled low in his throat.  
"What is it that you want Mother?" he hissed. The two girls behind her visibly flinched and backed further away from the pair.  
She kept her face calm and loving despite the venom in his voice and merely held out the box in her hands. "I have brought you a new set of clothing son. Your kimono has been repaired so many times one couldn't possibly continue to wear it." As her son took the mahogany box from her pale hands, she turned and accepted the two other packages carried by the girls. "You may leave now."  
The girls bowed deeply again, one in a blue kimono brazenly locked eyes with Sesshomaru as she bowed, a sly smile splayed across her lips. He ignored her and turned his back to walk towards the tree, waiting till the girl was gone. His mother stifled a smile as she followed him.  
"Son, eventually you're going to have to produce an heir." He slammed the box onto a low hanging branch and spun towards her. She placed the other packages next to the box and pretended to pick lint off the sleeve of her outer kimono. "Don't look at me like that, you need an heir, your people need a leader. Since you refuse to lead your people then it is your duty to give them someone who will." Her sharp eyes flicked to his.  
He turned his back on her and began to strip out of his clothing, ignoring the pain her words brought him. She helped him as much as she could till he was as naked as the day she brought him into the world. He turned and looked at her again, holding his hand out for the under cloths from the two packages. Inukimi didn't move as she took in her sons naked chest and back, her skin chilled as she again looked upon the two horrendous scars. She reached out and touched the jagged skin that had taken every effort for her to heal after he had been brought back home, the wound that had taken his life. Sesshomaru might not be aware but for a moment he had died from the ice dagger in his chest and the only reason he had survived was due to one person but then again, he only survived both times was due to that one person.  
He patiently waited for her to compose herself and then he began to dress. The new kimono she had brought to him was a deep red with a white and black representation on one arm of his family crest, the sash was a deep purple, for the color of his family, and the soft billowing pants were also black. Of course, everything fit perfectly and he added his fur pelt and slipped his sword into the sash then allowed his mother to inspect him.  
"It's my best work, the threads come from the steel spider demon and should require less repair then your previous set of clothing. The color is very nice as well." She walked around him like a cat on the prowl, pulling on the cloths to make sure the seams and hems were acceptable.  
He looked at the red, black and white and openly glared at his mother. "I find it odd the colors you chose were that of the Sky Cloud Family instead of the Moon Fang or the Lord of the West." When she only shrugged and began packing up his old clothing he growled and grabbed at her.  
Inukimi was a strong woman, a woman humans and demons alike feared more than any other, it was her age and her love that kept her from snapping every bone in her sons arm when his hand closed around her arm like a vise grip. He stared down at her while she glared back up at him, their faces mere inches apart.  
"Unhand me before I remind you why I am the Head of the Moon Fang family." Her voice was soft and warm but there was no mistaking the sharp deadly tone buried within.  
Ten years ago, Sesshomaru would never have harmed his mother nor think himself more powerful than her. Things had changed after the battle of Naraku and he discover his own power. He was tired of being manipulated by her and it was time he made her understand how precious her position in the hierarchy of the Clan was. They stared each other down till the air was so thick with tension that the leaves on the tree began to shudder. He slowly released her arm and moved back a step, keeping his eyes on her, making her understand he would not be controlled.  
Inukimi thought her son's little tantrum cute and dipped her head slightly in resignation. He might want independence from his duty and his family but it seemed like she may need to force him one last time before time ran out. "You are correct; I chose those colors for a reason. You need a mate and I have picked several for you and you will choose one by the end of autumn." She turned from him and walked to the edge of the cavern, staring into its inky depths as if she could see the woman below. "And since you are still hung up on that woman, I have decided to ends things once and for all."  
Sesshomaru took a step towards her, as if he would really attack his own mother this time. She could see the aggression and fear instantly spring to his eyes and his mind raced with all the possibilities. After a moment he relaxed and straightened his clothing. "You can't end things; no one would be able to destroy the statue, nor the stone." Inukimi remembered how he had tried to break the stone once, to see if the woman he loved was at its center, desperate to free her. No matter what he had tried, he couldn't break it.  
"I might not be able to…but if the Meido Stone chose a new master, and if a blade made of heaven and earth were to ever be forged, then maybe I might be able to finally destroy that woman and release you from her ghost." She looked at her son, willing him to understand what her words meant. "I chose those colors as a way of paying homage to her sacrifice and your first love."  
Sesshomru let the words sink, unmoving as he realized what she meant. "Where's the stone Mother?"  
"I gave it to the human girl called Rin, she was chosen by the stone when it brought her back, and she now carries it here to destroy the statue, accompanied by your half breed brother."  
"A sword of heaven and earth." He whispered. "You wouldn't dare!" For the first time in her life, Inukimi heard her son yell. The sound reverted around them, disturbing the sleeping animals and causing the ground to shake.  
He was silent, rage racing through him, his body shaking as he thought about his brother touching the woman he loved. Without any further words or a good bye to his mother, Sesshomaru turned and left, shooting across the sky towards the slowly rising sun.  
Inukimi waited till she was sure her son was gone before leaping into the dark cavern, descending swiftly to the bottom. The cavern had flooded at some point from the river heavily impregnated from snow melt close by. The only source of light this far below came from a softly glowing blue statue in the shape of a screaming woman buried to her hips in water. Inukimi floated a few feet above the waterline, carful to keep her fur pelt and layered kimono dry.  
Inukimi closed her eyes and allowed the cold blue light to engulfed her, accompanied with a whispered eerie song that filled the hole. She opened her eyes and looked at the frightened and pained look on the woman's beautiful face.  
"It's almost time. Luckily, he didn't question the holes in my tall tale, and he is obviously still waiting for you, even if he won't admit it." The older demoness looked up and could barely make out the light purple color of dawn. "Unfortunately, you and Diaskue will both awaken, and we will see who has grown the strongest; my brother, or my son. You and the stone gave us time, and for that I will always be grateful." The statue pulsed, pulling the woman's eyes back to it as the light intensified slightly, as if somehow reacting to her words.  
"I wonder how broken he will be once this is over?"


End file.
